A farm growing medical marijuana in northern Thailand has been feeding its free-range chickens with cannabis instead of antibiotics, and researchers said the experiment has yielded promising results.
Researchers from Chiang Mai University’s Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences said fewer than 10% of the 1,000 chickens at the farm in Lampang have died since they introduced pot to the chickens’ diet in January 2021.
While the study’s findings are still under review and only cover one year’s worth of research, Chompunut Lumsangkul, an assistant professor who led the study, told that the cannabis feed appears to be working. The mortality rate for the chickens at the farm has been the same as in regular seasons when there isn’t a severe outbreak of any bird-killing disease, she said.
The birds’ special feed is produced by adding crushed cannabis to their feed and water, said Lumsangkul. No antibiotics and medicines are fed to or used on the chickens during this time.
Besides healthy chickens, the experiment has also allowed the farm to sell its birds for higher prices to consumers seeking organic poultry.
The birds are fetching double the regular price, at about $1.50 (R23.70)per pound, mostly because buyers want organic chickens that haven’t been administered antibiotics, Lumsangkul said. She also claimed that the chickens’ meat — which they call “GanjaChicken” — is more tender and tastes
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