Thailand Plans to Limit Cannabis Sales to Licensed Medical Facilities

Thai government officials are considering new rules to curtail the country’s cannabis industry by limiting cannabis sales to mostly licensed medical facilities, the Business Times reports. The proposal would also allow sales at herbal product shops, pharmacies, and through traditional medicine practitioners, but would require at least one practitioner with appropriate training from the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicines to be on-site at any cannabis retail location during its hours of operation.

The change marks the latest step in Thailand’s reversal since adopting a blanket cannabis decriminalization policy in 2022, which sparked the country’s current fledgling market.

But the recreational use of cannabis is again prohibited after government officials, after several years of decriminalization, last June decided to re-classify cannabis as a narcotic at the national level.

Thailand’s cannabis industry had grown to over 18,000 retailers by the end of 2025. However, more than 7,000 licensees opted not to seek a license renewal, which signals that a significant number of dispensaries are planning to close in the coming year, the report said.

In September, lawmakers appointed Anutin Charnvirakul, a former health minister who championed the nation’s cannabis decriminalization reforms in 2022, to be the country’s next prime minister.