Big Pharma dominates the worldwide market for drugs but there is an increasing clamour for plant-based rather than chemical-based answers for good health and well-being.
Thailand is one such country currently grappling with a radical shift in the market for herbal-based products after the surprise legalisation of marijuana that took even locals in the SE Asian nation, much visited by Australians, by surprise.
What transpired was something of a free-for-all if media reports are to be believed. It was supposed to be a way for Thais to grow their own for medical use rather than an open invitation to recreational use.
With more than two years since legalisation, Thailand is growing up with marijuana set to remain decriminalised but continue to be promoted just for medicinal use.
Studies are still unclear about the benefits of ingestion of CBD and other parts of the plant for a variety of ailments but use for relaxation and insomnia while anecdotal is quite clear to many who prefer something inherently natural as opposed to a white pill.
Interestingly, mushroom-based products are increasingly entering the local Thai market with some clearly of the “magic” variety, much favoured by backpackers of yore. Het Khee Khwai (buffalo pooh mushrooms) as they are called in Thai, are abundant.
With several key studies showing that psilocybin, the hallucinogenic property of magic mushrooms, is effective in treating depression, anxiety and addictions, maybe the Thais will lead the way in this regard even if they are trailing when it comes to marijuana research.
Plants can be just as political as pills as much of the world readjusts to wars on drugs that have largely failed.
Apropos, one stocker of herbs (the completely legal kind) that we came across recently is Ikkari, a kind of modern-day “apothecary”. The term was first coined by the Greeks but Ikkari, taking their inspiration from the Greek island of Ikaria, is using the word apothecary to symbolise a holistic approach to beauty and wellness using natural plants and ingredients.
These include products containing turmeric, adaptogens (herbs, roots and plants like legal mushrooms), natural collagens and probiotics.
Founded by Adrian Norris this is an Australian company going places. He wanted to make a radical change to the wellness industry. His mission, unlike what has been happening in Thailand, is not political but personal.
And that’s what good health should really be about.
