Thai Man Claims Cannabis Cured His Colon Cancer and Grows Nearly 1,000 Plants

On March 12, Thai police arrested Nong Sruang village resident Montri Tiwawornchai for cultivating cannabis on an industrial scale. Montri claims that he managed to cure his colon cancer using cannabis.

Montri Invested Over 2 Million Rubles in Cannabis Cultivation

Law enforcement officers from Nakhon Ratchasima province searched Tiwawornchai’s home and discovered a large cannabis farm with 976 cannabis plants. Montri stated that he spent 1 million baht (about 2.28 million rubles) to build a greenhouse and bought seeds from a neighboring district at a price of 3,000 baht (6,840 rubles) per kilogram.

He explained that in 2014, he was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. Montri refused chemotherapy and decided to treat himself with cannabis. He drank cannabis decoctions and ate fresh cannabis leaves. After some time, the tumor disappeared. Having recovered, Montri developed a business plan. He built a farm, bought equipment, planted cannabis, and planned to sell the harvest to neighbors for medical use. However, he did not apply for a license to cultivate medical cannabis due to bureaucratic difficulties.

Cannabis Craze Begins in Thailand

In 2018, Thailand legalized medical cannabis. The government began issuing licenses to commercial entities for cultivation, processing, import, export, and sale of cannabis. In 2019, the government announced plans to allow local residents to grow up to six cannabis plants per household and sell the raw material to state organizations. Officials aim to create a cooperative of farmers and medical institutions to ensure a steady supply of cannabis products. In January 2020, the first cannabis clinic opened in Bangkok, with the opening ceremony led by “Doctor Ganja,” a character symbolizing medical cannabis.