Thailand and Malaysia are vying to become the first Asian countries to legalise medical marijuana with the lure of billions in revenue trumping decades of prohibition Support for liberalisation is not unanimous: China, South Korea and Japan last month warned citizens visiting Canada to avoid cannabis and Singapore maintains a
Asia has the toughest penalties against drug use and trafficking but the legal landscape is shifting in several countries where cannabis, or marijuana, once deemed ruinous to young lives, is emerging as a lucrative industry.
In Thailand, where trafficking marijuana is illegal, parliament has set in motion plans to legalise the drug for medical use. On November 9, the national legislative assembly filed a proposal to re-classify marijuana as a legal drug and allow its regulated sale and possession. Marijuana may become available for licensed usage before the end of the year, according to The Washington Post.
This would position the Southeast Asian country as the epicentre of the burgeoning industry and advocates claim Thailand’s legal marijuana market could make US$5 billion by 2024.
Malaysia, which recently scrapped the death penalty for all crimes including drug trafficking, has begun informal cabinet discussions on legalising medical marijuana, racing alongside Thailand to become the first Asian country to allow the drug.
The “green gold rush” has begun and Asian nations are eager to share in the windfall.
There are a number of varieties of cannabis – hemp is one, marijuana is another – and the plant’s stems can be used for fabric, its leaves for smoking and seeds for snacks, oil and drinks. The difference between the two is the amount of the psychoactive compound, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Hemp contains only trace amounts but both contain cannabidiol (CBD), which has been used to treat conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is considering amending its laws so drugs infused with CBD can be imported. In Japan, cannabis use is illegal but research into cannabinoids is being undertaken and about 40 farmers have been given licences to grow plants. In Sri Lanka, the health minister announced in April that cultivation of medical cannabis would begin later this year.
According to Martin Jelsma, director of the drug policy programme at Transnational Institute, an Amsterdam-based think tank, Nepal, Bhutan and India may also be open to legalising medical cannabis. Even China could be tempted to pursue a policy of liberalisation: production, trade and consumption of cannabis are illegal but authorities have supported limited production in Heilongjiang and Yunnan provinces for commercial purposes, and funded scientists to study the plant’s military uses.
“You see countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan also becoming interested in looking at medical cannabis in part because they see how much money the rest of the world’s companies and countries are getting out of it,” Jelsma said. “Of course it’s more difficult to monitor China – [but there may be] interest in medical cannabis as they already have a huge hemp industry.”
The emerging market in Asia is being fuelled by promises of economic benefits and the increasing acceptance – globally and regionally – of legalisation over criminalisation.
The medical marijuana market is projected to grow to US$55.8 billion by 2025, according to business consultants at Grandview Research, constituting about one-third of the overall legal marijuana market, projected to be worth US$146.4 billion by the same year.
Worldwide, Peru, Chile, Britain and 31 of 50 American states are already tapping into the industry – in the US, legal cannabis is providing some states with a tax windfall.
