Cannabis in Thailand

Thailand's cannabis market boomed once the plant stopped being treated as a narcotic, peaking at roughly 18,000 outlets, according to The Nation, most of them selling flower to anyone who walked in. That era is over. On June 26, 2025 the Ministry of Public Health issued its Notification on Controlled Herbs (Cannabis) 2025, which keeps cannabis flower legal but classifies it as a controlled herb that may be dispensed only against a prescription. In September 2026 the practical answer to "is weed legal in Thailand" is: yes for medical use through a licensed outlet with a valid prescription, no for recreational use.

The prescription is the PT33 form. According to Tilleke & Gibbins, it can be issued by seven kinds of recognized practitioners, including medical doctors, Thai traditional medicine doctors, applied Thai traditional medicine doctors, folk healers, Chinese medicine practitioners, pharmacists and dentists, working in a clinic or hospital. Each prescription covers at most 30 days and is used once. Shops must check the prescriber, keep prescriptions for at least a year and buy flower only from GACP-certified farms; breaches can bring up to a year in prison or a THB 20,000 fine.

The rules then tightened in stages. A Ministerial Regulation published on April 30, 2026 and in force from May 1 ties new and renewed sales licences to premises that already hold a hospital, pharmacy, herbal product or folk healer licence, with at least one DTAM-trained staff member present whenever the premises is open and odor and smoke control in place. Existing licences run until they expire, so the change works through renewals. On April 1, 2026 the ministry said shops would get a three-year window to become clinic-style facilities, and the health minister told The Nation that by 2028 any venue selling flower will need a resident practitioner.

What this means for buyers: expect a short consultation, a passport or Thai ID check and a PT33 before any flower sale. Consultations in tourist areas are commonly quoted at a few hundred baht. Sales to anyone under 20, pregnant women and breastfeeding women are banned, advertising cannabis flower is prohibited, and consumption on licensed premises is not allowed. Smoking in public can be prosecuted as a nuisance under the Public Health Act, with fines reported at up to THB 25,000. A foreign prescription carries no weight, and bringing cannabis into Thailand from abroad is treated as drug trafficking. CBD products below the regulated THC threshold can be sold without a prescription.

More change is coming. On September 22, 2026 the cabinet approved a draft Cannabis Control Act that would write the medical-only model into law, with three-year licences for farms, processors and retailers, heavier penalties and seed-to-sale tracking. It goes to the House of Representatives next and is not yet law. This page summarizes the rules as reported in September 2026 and is not legal advice.