One of America’s most iconic cannabis brand, Cookies, opened its first Asian location on Saturday in Bangkok.
A gram of Cookie’s flagship strain Girl Scout Cookies retailed for 900 baht, or around $27 USD, Leafly reported.
A Cookies representative told Coconuts that all the nugs they are selling are grown in Thailand by partners.
Cookies founder Berner was on site for the grand opening (judging from his Instagram, he’s having a grand time getting to know Thailand, too). But the famous cannabis executive wasn’t the only draw. The event also featured muay thai boxers exchanging kicks to the ribcage in the middle of one of the store’s showrooms. A tuk tuk branded with Cookies’ signature looping logo was parked outside the store, ready for photo opportunities with excited stoners.
We should clarify, however, that cannabis rights are not exactly set in stone yet in the country. In fact, some Thai politicians are pushing back on the mere idea of a recreational commercial industry. When the plant was descheduled in early 2021, it didn’t take long for a fleet of weed trucks and brick-and-mortar locations to pop up across Bangkok, particularly in its tourist areas.
At the moment, the Thai scene generally discourages adult-use weed being consumed by anyone under 20, or by people who are pregnant or breast-feeding. Smoking in public (this is a big one!) could land a toker a $750 USD fine or even jail time, according to some sources. Driving while intoxicated is also frowned upon.
Perhaps in an attempt to shield the international corporation from potential legal reckoning (we don’t know if this is the case or not), the new Bangkok location is not technically owned by Cookies, nor did the brand pay to build the new store. Instead, the name listed on the paperwork appears to be Joel Schmidt, a Bay Area man who has long worked with Berner.
Schmidt has been in the cannabis business for awhile, opened one of Cali’s first licensed medical dispensaries, Trichome Healing Caregivers, and currently heads up a variety of large-scale weed operations in California, Oregon, and elsewhere —including a California company called Natura that is interested in building worldwide cannabis supply chains.
“Thailand is an incredibly unique place full of incredible culture, and opening up a Cookies store with the support of the country of Thailand, I am grateful for,” Schmidt told Coconuts. “I hope Bangkok is ready for an exclusive menu of fire genetics.”
Berner announced this master plan to bring US weed to the Thai people back in August, when he posted on Instagram that he and Schmidt had been cooking up the plan for two years.
In addition to opening a new location in Thailand, Berner recently helped developed and launched R&B legend Erykah Badu’s new weed strain. A separate store opening in California garnered some controversy for allegedly appealing to kids by, supposedly, invoking Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster.
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Caitlin Donohue via (https://merryjane.com/news/berners-cookies-officially-opens-its-first-asian-location-in-thailand)
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