There is a bloodbath coming in the cannabis industry in Thailand in the next 12 months, that may cause major blowback on EU and North American companies as well.
WSR is already aware of several cases of missing investor money, so called CEOs absconded, vast overbuilt facilities with nothing growing in them but a handful of dilapidated plants, restructuring of cannabis companies (already!) and an unholy glut of illegally imported cannabis from Europe, Canada and the United States that should rightfully be labeled as dumping (although the prices are insanely high instead of crazy low as is usual in dumping cases). Couple this with an insanely dense population of “dispensaries” popping up, and large numbers of growers all growing the same strains, and it is inevitable that many will fold and leave their owners with nothing but shattered dreams.
The amount of operators moving in who know nothing of the industry, except that they can make a quick buck, setting up shop with truly horrific legal structures that are going to blow up in their faces is astonishing. It is like everyone has lost their mind in a wave of greed, including the lawyers setting companies up with no real knowledge of cannabis law.
The prevailing trend is the attitude that “It’s completely deregulated. We can do anything we want.” is dangerously poor thinking. Dispensaries are getting away with all kinds of blatantly illegal activity right now, sales of THC extracts, edibles made with THC extracts, smoking on the premises, and brazen rip offs of well known intellectual property brands, like Louis Vuitton and Starbucks.
One burning question I have is how the lawyers of all these “legal” growers in the EU, Canada and the United States are going to explain to their regulatory authorities how their sales suddenly skyrocketed off the sales of cannabis to Thailand when it is still illegal to import here?
Reality seems lost on many here in the wave of greed and the backlash is going to be ugly.
If you are considering investing in cannabis in Thailand, for the love of god, make sure you talk to someone that knows not only the cannabis law inside out, but also the industry.
Does WSR have this expertise? This says it all:
“If you intend to be in the cannabis business in Thailand, you need to talk to WSR.”
Cameron Forni
CEO Hypescale Ventures, Founder of Select
