Survey Finds That Nearly Half Of Adults In Thailand Tried Cannabis Recently
By Johnny Green
In many ways, Thailand is now at the forefront of cannabis public policy and is creating a medical cannabis industry foundation that will provide the opportunity for every household in the nation to get into the industry if they choose to do so.
Every household in Thailand can sign up with the government to cultivate medical cannabis (up to 6 plants), and then sell some or all of the cannabis to the government after receiving licensing approval.
Aspiring cannabis farmers can even apply for a government loan to help start their gardens, and at an interest rate of just a mere 0.01% per year for the first three years.
Cannabis that is high in THC is still prohibited in Thailand, however, the rise in cannabis policy reform appears to perhaps be paralleled by a rise in consumption rates according to a new study. Per Bangkok Post:
Almost half of Thais have used cannabis-based products in the past two years, while about 62% say they are interested in consuming such products in the next 12 months, market research and data analytics firm YouGov found.
Their report, based on a survey carried out online on Feb 28 among 2,044 participants aged 18 years and over, found 73% of Thais are aware of the commercial availability of cannabis-based products, which range from beverages, food and cosmetics.
When the survey’s responses were categorised by the age of respondents, they showed 55% of millennials (born in 1981-1996) and 47% of Gen Zs (born 1997-2009) have used a cannabis-based product recently, compared to 41% of Gen X consumers (born 1965-1980) and 28% baby-boomers (born 1946-1964).
To put these figures from Thailand into perspective, Gallup polling found that 49% of adults in the United States have consumed cannabis at least one time in their entire lives, and 12% identify as being a ‘regular’ cannabis consumer.
According to data from 2019, the largest cannabis consumption rates in Europe are found in France and Spain where roughly 11% of people indicated that they had consumed cannabis within the last year.
The medical cannabis industry in Thailand is set to explode, and cannabis industry investors and entrepreneurs would be smart to keep a close eye on the situation.
