THIS local man planted marijuana on 17 pots inside his property in Angthong subdistrict for his own consumption, or so he claimed. The police, however, didn’t believe him, reasoning that 17 cannabis plants were way too much for his own “enjoyment.”

Vitsavet, 37, was nabbed in his home in Moo 2, Angthong, after someone had tipped off the lawmen about his cannabis plantation at the back of his house. Police said the plants had grown to 1-2 meters high. They took 14 plants to be used as evidence against Vitsavet.

Interrogated at the police station, Vitsavet denied allegations that he grew the plants for commercial purposes, adding that he planted them for his own self. He admitted, though, that some teenagers always dropped by his house to ask for marijuana and that he gave it for free and never sold it. Cannabis leaves and flowers are cut up and dried and wrapped in rolled paper for smoking.

The police, however, did not believe Vitsavet since the number of cannabis plants he was tending was deemed too much for his own consumption. Police suspected that he intended to sell marijuana to tourists and teenagers because the demand for this drug on Koh Samui was high and he could earn much from this illegal business.