BANGKOK—Thailand’s health minister helped plant cannabis seedlings on Thursday as the government nurtures plans to harvest the multibillion-dollar potential of medical marijuana.
The kingdom in 2018 became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize medical marijuana, although many Thais have long used the herb in traditional treatments.
The government has invested in the extraction, distillation, and marketing of cannabis oils for use in the health industry.
Wearing a hairnet and green gardening gloves, Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul joined health officials planting seedlings at Thailand’s second industrial-scale marijuana greenhouse at Nong Yai, Chonburi province.
In a statement, Anutin said the administration wanted to “support with sincerity patients who need to use cannabis for treatment.”
Thailand’s Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul holds a cannabis seedling during a planting ceremony at the Government Pharmaceuticals Organisation…
