[para 3]A year later the government announced that parts of the plant containing less than 0.2% THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, could legally be used in cosmetics and food. In November last year Ban Lao Rueng became the first restaurant in the country to serve cannabis-infused dishes. At least a dozen more have since sprung up.

[para 4]What accounts for the reversal? There is growing awareness in government that Thailand’s punitive drug-control regime is ineffective. Relaxing cannabis laws was also politically expedient.

[para 5]In order to make up the numbers to form a coalition, Thailand’s ruling party needed the support of Anutin Charnvirakul, the leader of a small party that campaigned to have the green stuff partially decriminalised. He was appointed deputy prime minister and health minister, and allowed to keep his promise.

[para 6]There is a long tradition in Thailand of cooking with cannabis. Thais began mixing the plant, which is native to Asia, into herbal remedies and then food centuries ago. Even after it was criminalised in 1934, many Thais carried on cooking with it.

[para 7]Chakree Lapboonruang, a 30-something Bangkokian, says his father regularly tossed cannabis leaves into the pad gaprao (basil chicken stir-fry) he cooked for the family. “When you have something tasty, [cannabis] makes it better,” Mr Chakree says. “It’s just like MSG, except it’s natural.”

[para 8]Food-and-drink companies are seeing green. In April Ichitan, Thailand’s biggest teamaker, launched two drinks infused with terpene, a compound responsible for cannabis’s pong. The Pizza Company, a Thai fast-food chain, recently introduced “Crazy Happy Pizza”; its toppings include one deep-fried cannabis leaf.

[para 9]Weed is good for business, says Mr Chakree, an owner of Kiew Kai Ka, a trendy restaurant in Bangkok. There is not enough THC in the food to make people high. Yet when customers eat dishes from his restaurant’s cannabis menu, he laughs, they “get hungrier”.

4. 内容精读

✏ resemble [rɪˈzembl] v. 看起来像；显得像；像

She closely resembles her sister. 她和她姐姐很像。

So many hotels resemble each other. 许多酒店看上去都差不多。

✏ gauzy [ˈɡɔː zi] adj. (材料)薄纱似的，轻薄透明的

thin, gauzy curtains. 轻薄透明的窗帘

✏ demon [ˈdiː mən] n. 魔鬼；（使人担忧和不快的）邪恶事物

demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼

She was a dictator and a demon。她是一个独裁者，一个女魔头。

✏ punitive [ˈpjuː nətɪv] adj. 惩罚性的;刑罚的

There are calls for more punitive measures against people who drink and drive. 有人呼吁对酒后驾车的人要有更具处罚性的措施。

He was awarded punitive damages. 法庭判给他处罚性的损害赔偿。

✏ cannabis [ˈkænəbɪs] n. 大麻制品

Possession of cannabis will no longer be an arrestable offense. 持有大麻将不再会被拘捕。

【声明】：本文原文摘选自The Economist | January 1TH-7TH 2022，原文版权归杂志所有，仅供个人学习交流使用。

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