Thailand Marijuana Festival Has Visitors On A High

A Buddhist monk fishes out a vial of cannabis oil from his robe and puts a drop under his tongue -- one of many flocking to a weed festival in northeastern Thailand, where excitement is building over a medical marijuana boom

Buriram, Thailand, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Apr, 2019 ) :A Buddhist monk fishes out a vial of cannabis oil from his robe and puts a drop under his tongue -- one of many flocking to a weed festival in northeastern Thailand, where excitement is building over a medical marijuana boom.

Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise marijuana for medicinal purposes last year, joining a growing list of governments including Canada, Australia, Israel and more than half the US states.

The global market is forecast to reach tens of billions in under a decade, but slow-moving implementation of the Thai law has lagged behind a wave of local enthusiasm.

A political party has endorsed the plant's benefits while marijuana-themed conferences and panels have sprung up across Thailand, with the three-day festival in Buriram town being the latest showcase for the drug's uses.

The "Pan Buriram" (Buriram Strain) festival, ending Sunday, is a first for the sleepy town located about five hours northeast of Bangkok and known mainly for its football and motorsports competitions.

Monk Chaivisit Visitvekin, 67, was one of thousands who showed up and stood in line to file documents with the Ministry of Health as part of an amnesty for those already using cannabis for pain relief.

He said he was taking it for shoulder pain among other ailments.

"I used it before and had no side effects," he said.

The atmosphere on the festival's opening day reflected the mix of caution and excitement over the legalisation of medical marijuana in junta-run Thailand.

Armed police lingered as Bob Marley songs pumped out over stereos, vendors sold rolling papers and pipes, and the pungent whiff of marijuana filled the outer fringes of the grounds.

Lecturers addressed attendees on everything from "the four cannabis varieties" to "quality control" in air-conditioned tents that displayed large marijuana plants.

Vendors also showed off fertilisers as well as lighting and greenhouse equipment for those seeking to grow the plant.

Recent graduate Surrerat Ruangnoy said she used marijuana to help treat migraines, adding that she hoped the traditional stigma surrounding the drug would ease as a result of such events.

"At the festival I saw old people and I took pictures and will show them to my parents," the 26-year-old said.