Congratulations to Mamma Mia Wonderfood and owner Loris and his wife for being the first business on Koh Phangan to get the license for cannabis products! Phanganist had the pleasure to ask them some questions about what we can all expect from this and how the process went.
Loris actually used to bake with cannabis many years ago in Italy and so when he saw the opportunity arise here in Thailand 6 months ago he went for it.
“I believe in this plant very much and for me, it is a dream. I can order, cook, sell and stock all legally!”
At first, his wife was nervous about going for the license and cooking with cannabis, after personal discussions she opened her eyes to the idea and they started the process to apply.
How was the process to get the license?
At first, it was not easy as we did not have much information and so my Thai Accountant said we should wait for someone else to do it first and then follow them. Finally, step by step and paper by paper we started to apply and understand the process. We had to visit the office and began to visit the farm and slowly received the details and phone number.
We spent weeks calling on the phone and then because my wife is 51 per cent owner of the company she needed to go to many places to sign many papers. If you have some wrong in your life or have been to jail or court you can’t access this. Finally, we made it but this is just the paper for you to buy the cannabis. After this, you have to get the OK from the Food Drug Administration, apply with many more papers and they check your company, taxes, restaurant license, check the kitchen/fridges etc and finally, you are good to go.
Where does the cannabis you use come from?
All the cannabis comes from a government farm. It is fully organic and grown from seeds. The soil and anything that goes in the plant needs to be approved by the FDA. We can buy from more than 1300 legal farms.
For the first time, you need to visit, make a contract and later you can send it to Koh Phangan by special courier with a temperature-controlled fridge.
The idea for the edibles is to create a fusion that is perfect to add to any food and drink. Loris has employed a new Thai chef to take care of the Thai food.
“Our dream is to have aperitifs to starters, bread, main dishes, fish dishes and for sure sweets and cocktails”.
The idea is for Mamma Mia to have a new type of happy hour where people can enjoy everything at 4:20 pm for 1 hour.
Please note that legally they cannot sell to anyone under 25 years old or pregnant women.
“Our limit is a maximum of 8 leaves a day for each customer so we follow the law”.
Mamma Mia can guarantee the quality of the product and most importantly all of the benefits for health such as helping with anxiety, pain from rheumatoid arthritis, depression and many more.
How is this good for the island of Koh Phangan?
For the island it is good but for the whole of Thailand, it’s super good!! Make Thailand Green again!!!
When the tourists can come back they can relax legally and have fun whilst respecting Thai law.
Malaysia which is our most close border country in the South has very strong laws about marijuana which probably means we will have many tourists just come for food and drink. The same as when Thai people go to casinos in Myanmar or Cambodia.
The menu and products are ready to buy and all Mamma Mia’s staff are happy to welcome you any day. They bake fresh produce every day with a lot of love and a bit of ganja.
We wish them all the best and hope you can visit and try what is on offer!