Thailand starts banning the sale of cannabis without a prescription
[June 27, 2025] By
JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has started banning the sale of cannabis to
those without a prescription, three years after becoming the first
country in Asia to decriminalize the plant.
The new order, signed by Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin earlier this
week, came into effect Thursday after it was published in the Royal
Gazette. It bans shops from selling cannabis to customers without a
prescription and reclassifies cannabis buds as a controlled herb.
Sellers that violate the new order could face a maximum one-year jail
term and a 20,000-baht ($614) fine.
The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, in charge
of enforcing regulations related to cannabis, held an online meeting
Friday with officials across the country to prepare them for the change.
Officials said during the meeting that shops that are currently licensed
can continue to operate but they must get their products only from
pharmaceutical-grade farms that are certified by the department, and
must declare sources of their products to authorities every month. Those
farms must also acquire a license for selling cannabis. The order says
shops can only sell a limited amount of cannabis to those with a
prescription, enough for personal use in 30 days.
They also said the department is setting up clear guidelines for the
prescription of cannabis and enforcement of the new regulations. They
said they will give time for the shops to adjust, but did not say
exactly how long that timeframe would be.
Chokwan “Kitty” Chopaka, a cannabis advocate who used to own a
dispensary in Bangkok, said there is still a lot confusion about the new
rules, with some officials themselves apparently unsure what to do.
“Owners are freaking out, a lot of them are scared,” she said.
The move to decriminalize in 2022 had boosted Thailand’s tourism and
farming industries, and spawned thousands of shops.
But the country has faced public backlash over allegations that a lack
of regulation made the drug available to children and caused addiction.
Treechada Srithada, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, said in a
statement Thursday that cannabis use in Thailand would become “fully for
medical purposes.”
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A staff prepares flower bud of marijuana for a customer at a
cannabis shop after Thailand started banning the sale of cannabis to
those without a prescription in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, June 27,
2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
 She said shops that violate the
order will be closed and the ministry will also tighten requirements
for approval of a new license in the future. She said there are
curently about 18,000 shops that hold a license to sell cannabis.
Chokwan argued that the rules were already in place, but what was
lacking was the enforcement. She also said the abrupt change was
politically motivated.
“We know we need regulation. We need control. The existing rule that
is in the announcement previously needs to be enforced. Can we
enforce that first? Before we move on to something that is harder
and people don’t understand what’s going on,” she said.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party previously promised to criminalize the
drug again, but faced strong resistance from its former partner in
the coalition government, the Bhumjaithai Party, which supported
decriminalization.
Bhumjaithai quit the coalition last week over a leaked phone call
between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian
leader Hun Sen. Health Minister Somsak signed the new order just
days after Bhumjaithai left the government.
The move to restrict cannabis sales came after officials last month
revealed that cannabis smuggling cases involving tourists had soared
in recent months. Somsak told reporters Tuesday he would like to
relist cannabis as a narcotic in the future.
Thailand's Office of the Narcotics Control Board said a study
conducted by the agency last year found the number of people
addicted to cannabis had spiked significantly after it was
decriminalized.
A group of cannabis advocates said they will rally at the Health
Ministry next month to oppose the change and any attempt to make it
a criminal offense again to consume or sell cannabis.
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