The Anantara Chiang Mai resort in Thailand has launched ‘healthy and nutrition-rich’ cannabis-infused food and drink at its on-site restaurant. Jenny Southan reports
Following the Thai government’s recent decriminalisation of most parts of the marijuana plant such as the leaves, which do not feature psychoactive THC, the Anantara Chiang Mai has decided to incorporate cannabis into the food served at its The Service 1921 restaurant.
Described as a “healthy and nutrition-rich cannabis-infused menu”, diners can order deep-fried seabass with crispy cannabis leaves and a cannabis tamarind sauce; spicy grilled prawns with traditional Thai herbs and cannabis; braised pork spare ribs with a shitake mushroom and cannabis soup; stir fried beef with cannabis, and grilled river prawns with a spicy lime cannabis sauce.
Will the food make you stoned? A spokesperson told Globetrender: “No, it doesn’t make you high. The THC rich flowers, buds and seeds remain off-limits, but other parts of the plant such as the leaves have been removed from the prohibited list here in Thailand due to their dietary benefits so they have become a new trend to use them in dishes.”
According to Anantara, cannabis leaves contain “significant levels of essential vitamins and minerals”. It said in a statement: “When the leaves of the cannabis plant are fresh and raw, cannabinoids in the cannabis plant are found in their acid form rather than their active form, meaning guests will not feel dazed from eating or drinking raw cannabis leaves.”
The new menu also includes cannabis-based drinks such as the H.I.D. (Hemp in Distiller) with fresh cannabis leaves, monsoon jasmine tea, pandan leaf, dry orange and chamomile tea.
The Cannabis Fizzy mocktail combines soda, apple nectar, pineapple juice, lime juice, cannabis syrup and topped with cannabis leaf.
Meanwhile, the Genmaicha Hazelnut Latte features genmaicha tea, milk, hazelnut syrup, cannabis powder, and cannabis leaf and chocolate cookies.
In 2019, Globetrender predicted Cannabis Tourism would be a growing trend for the new decade. You can read more in our free 2020 Travel Trend Forecast.