Southern Thailand
More actions
| Southern Thailand | |
|---|---|
| ActiveCannabis last recorded here in 2026 | |
| |
| Khun Phang Valley, as seen by drone | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 8.110000, 99.770000 |
| Gene Pool | Tenasserim Gene Pool |
| Regional Complex | Malay Peninsula |
| Country | Thailand |
| Provinces/States | Chumphon Province,Krabi Province,Nakhon Si Thammarat Province,Narathiwat Province,Pattani Province,Phang Nga Province,Phatthalung Province,Phuket Province,Ranong Province,Satun Province,Songkhla Province,Surat Thani Province,Trang Province,Yala Province |
| Area | 70,600 km² |
| Primary Rivers | Tapi River |
| Primary Mountains | Tenasserim Hills |
| Growing history | |
| Dated accessions | 1951–2026 |
| Dated news reports | 2019 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | none documented yet |
Southern Thailand is a cannabis growing region in Thailand, on the Malay Peninsula between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. It takes in the provinces of Chumphon, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Phang Nga, Phatthalung, Phuket, Ranong, Satun, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Trang and Yala. Western Thailand lies to the north. The growing areas of Ko Tao, Ko Phangan and Nakhon Si Thammarat lie within it.
A herbarium sheet from Kiriwong in Nakhon Si Thammarat shows cannabis grown in a garden there for smoking in 1951.[1] Seed accessions of landrace general populations were collected in the same province in 2025. Community enterprises in Phuket applied to grow cannabis in 2021, and a licensed farm on Ko Samui was growing it in 2023.[2][3]
Geography
The Nakhon Si Thammarat growing area covers that province and holds six appellations. Two of them, Kiriwong and Lan Saka, adjoin each other on the eastern side of the Khao Luang massif; Tha Sala lies to the north, its accessions about 56 kilometres from those of Lan Saka. The 1951 sheet was collected at Tab Chang, Khiri Wong, at 400 m.[1] Two further growing areas are the islands of Ko Tao and Ko Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand, in Surat Thani. Further seed accessions come from Sankalakhiri in Yala and from Nong Bua in Ratsada District of Trang.
Cultivation history
Before 2019
P. Suvarnakoses collected a plant at Kiriwong on 16 December 1951. The label calls the plant Kan cha and says it was used for smoking. Its note reads "Scattered in open area, uncommon, crop in garden".[1] Two seed accessions of a line from Tha Sala District called Meun Sri date from 1990 and 2010.
In the months after medical cannabis was legalised in 2019, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board found people growing cannabis without permission in 11 provinces, Chumphon among them.[4]
Seed accessions
The seed accessions from Nakhon Si Thammarat were collected in April 2025. At Na Thon, in Tha Sala, five lots of the 2023 harvest carry the names Mor Samut and Na Thon. Six lots from Ban Kachon, in Lan Saka, and one from Kiriwong are also from the 2023 harvest, and a further lot is called Southern 'Squirrel Tail'. These are classified as landraces. The accessions from Ko Tao are the selections of one grower, and those from Ko Phangan come from one inland site; all of the island accessions are classified as hybrids.
Licensed growing
In March 2021 nine community enterprises in Phuket signed agreements with subdistrict health-promoting hospitals and applied to grow cannabis.[3] On Ko Samui, a licensed farm with 10 greenhouses stood in the Mae Nam Soi 3 community of Mae Nam subdistrict in 2023. On 7 June 2023 residents petitioned the district public health office to revoke its licence, complaining of smell, noise and light.[2]
Growing Areas
Accessions
Recent news
| Article | Date | Growing area | Category | Plants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| News:2019-06-21/Eradication/tha-sae-police-seize-more-than-5-000-cannabis-plants-and-seedlings-in-a-palm-plantation-in-chumphon | Eradication | 5,000 |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Digitised sheet SN 009261". Forest Herbarium collections. Forest Herbarium, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Suwannatada, Sutannaraj (8 June 2023). "ชาวสมุยเหลือทน 'กลิ่น-เสียง' ยื่นขอให้ถอนใบอนุญาตฟาร์มปลูกกัญชา" [Samui residents fed up with smell and noise petition to revoke a cannabis farm's licence]. Daily News (in ไทย). Retrieved 19 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 อรุณ ลอตระกูล (26 March 2021). ""ปลูกกัญชา"พรึบภูเก็ต9วิสาหกิจชุมชนภูเก็ตแห่จับมือรพ.สต" [Cannabis planting spreads in Phuket as nine community enterprises team up with subdistrict hospitals]. Thansettakij (in ไทย). Retrieved 19 October 2026.
- ↑ "Public warned against growing cannabis without official permission". Pattaya Mail. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
