The relationship with the family. The relationship with society. This has been complicated for Beer. The interest in cannabis has meant that life has not always been easy. – Smell this! Soranut Masayavanich, who has the nickname “Beer”, holds up a dried flower. This is the last delivery. Cannabis straight from the farm. – It’s like fine wine. This is “good shit”. It’s like fucking Château Haut-Brion. Beer laughs out loud. The laughter is rolling, but quite deep and a bit shaky. – “Fuck, is this happening?” The 37-year-old speaks Thai, interspersed with American swearing and perfect French pronunciation of wine. “Beer” uses face masks to protect customers and gloves to protect the goods. Photo: Philip Lote / news On 10 June, something happened that led to a high temperature in the public debate in Thailand. From one day to the next, cannabis went from being illegal to becoming legal. Restricted by the smoking law, but otherwise almost without restrictions. – I cried on the way here, and thought «fuck, is this happening? Is it actually happening? ». For Beer, the fight for the legalization of cannabis is not just about reason and knowledge. It’s emotions. It’s personal. The teenage star who disappeared Beer was a teenage star on Thai TV when he was caught with a small dose of cannabis 20 years ago. He was convicted of possession. All missions disappeared. There were no new ones. His father sold his car as punishment. A slightly above average cool BMW. The place Beer was on its way to that day a little over a week ago, when cannabis became legal, was his own outlet. Twenty years after being convicted, he opened his own cannabis store. The sale is located on Sukhumvit Street and is called Sukhum-weed. The pun with the name of one of Bangkok’s perhaps most famous streets shows that years of social exclusion did not remove Beers’ joy of playing with words. The menu of Sukhumweed. Photo: Philip Lote / news Cannabis over the counter Highland Café is another outlet in the same city. The bar serves beer, but has temporarily had to close the kitchen. When they were also allowed to sell cannabis over the counter, they did not have the crew to serve food as well. Grace one of the customers at Highland Café says she does not use, but that she has come to buy for her boyfriend Photo: Philip Lote / news – It has been completely wild days in Thailand. One day it was illegal. Then it became legal. There have been several hundred in line outside the first few evenings, says founder and owner Rattapon Sanrak. They can sell the dried flowers and equipment to paint the flower for other uses, but it is not allowed to smoke inside the café. – Now we are investing in open franchises all over Thailand, says founder and owner Rattapon Sanrak. Here with co-founder Avery Arun on the left. Photo: Philip Lote / news – Before, everything about cannabis was underground. Now the business is done above ground. It creates jobs. It can happen in a controlled manner. It can be taxed, says Rattapon Sanrak. Network of plantations Highland Café is the largest and most organized with a network of plantations. Farmer Calvin Cheng shows us around the plantation of the Eastern Spectrum Group, where he is one of the founders and director. Prior to legalization, the plantation operated as a research collaboration with a university. Now they can sell freely and operate completely commercially. What is special about their plantation is that it is outdoors. They do not grow in greenhouses. – Our plants follow a cycle of 12 hours of daylight. They mature within three months. We can get three crops a year without depleting the soil, says Calvin Cheng. Photo: Philip Lote / news They deliver to outlets in Bangkok and are considering opening their own outlet that may also be able to use the leaves from the plant as an ingredient in food and baked goods. However, this is not the core of the business idea. The new agricultural company focuses on high-quality cannabis that can be sold on the global market for medical cannabis. A market that in 2015 was worth 11 billion US dollars, but in 2025 is expected to be worth 56 billion dollars. – We are definitely aiming for exports. We believe we can produce cannabis to a quality that is at least as good as that produced in western countries, at a fraction of the price, says Calvin Cheng. It is the flower on the cannabis flower that is dried and then can be used in painted form or to squeeze oil in various concentrates. Photo: Philip Lote / news Worse than Amsterdam Legalization is happening strangely enough while Thailand is not yet out of several years of military rule. The Thai government consists of a military party and a support party. It is the smaller support party that has had the legalization of cannabis as a taboo subject. They also have the Minister of Health in the government. The government’s argument is that it will be able to develop agriculture to help Thailand’s farmers. It will create new income opportunities for an economy that is badly damaged after more than two years of pandemic. They say the purpose is production for medical use, but the legalization took place before a new law that would regulate the use and sale of cannabis has been passed. This means that it is currently free to buy and sell for private use. The idea that the whole of Thailand can now become “Asia’s Amsterdam” makes more people shake their heads. Among them is the head of the medical faculty at Thailand’s prestigious Chulalongkorn University. – It’s worse than Amsterdam. Here you can grow at home. You can sell near schools. In Amsterdam, there are rules that determine quantity and quality. Sales are limited to smaller outlets within limited areas, says Professor Chanchai Sittipunt. Chanchai Sittipunt is the dean of Chulalongkorn University and the twin brother of Bangkok’s newly elected governor. The governor recently banned cannabis from all schools in Bangkok and is supported by his brother. Photo: Philip Lote / news – In Thailand it is a kind of honeymoon, but for me a kind of nightmare, he adds. The professor also says that tourists who come must be careful. – You must be sure of the quality and know what is legal in your own country. It is not the case that you can buy and take it home, he emphasizes. Teen parents worried Another critic is commentator and teenage mother Tippimol Kiatwateeratana. – The government has had nothing but a superficial plan, Tippimol says. Writer Tippimol Kiatwateeratana together with his 17-year-old daughter Pimbhun. The mother believes the government has done a bad job legalizing it. Photo: Philip Lote / news Tippimol writes about family and social issues. She refers to the app “Grow together” which promotes cannabis. It received 38 million visits on the same day as the legalization in Thailand. – Can the government please think a little about what happens to the young people after legalization? What about the parents of children, especially the early teens? Parents should be informed. Should they go to the “Grow Together” app to learn about cannabis? Until now, the outlets have self-regulated before the authorities have regulated. Highland started on their own to ask for ID and do not sell to those under 20. They did this before the authorities came up with the same decision. In the face of the criticism, the Minister of Health refers to the law that is to regulate legalization and is now being considered by parliament. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has also asked people to use cannabis only as part of medical treatment. Mine calls itself bid-tender and not bartender. She is a cannabis influencer and works with “Beer” Sukhumweed. Photo: Philip Lote / news Perfect end to a bad journey When “Beer” understood that the legalization was going to happen, he started looking for the car his father sold when he was convicted. After light for two to three years, he found the car. The car was still on the road. – I bought the car back and I bought it for money I had earned on cannabis. “Beer” smiles broadly, but this time quietly before disappearing a little into his own thoughts. For Beer, the ring is over. Redress with perfect dramaturgy for a man who, after all, grew up in the entertainment industry.
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For «Beer» it is a personal victory – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
