Thailand Fully Medical Cannabis is Beginning!
2 min read
The Royal Gazette has published an announcement from the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, effective immediately on July 1, 2025, All cannabis purchases will require a medical prescription under the new government regulation as cannabis shops cannot sell products to customers who do not have a prescription, which can be issued by either traditional medicine practitioners or modern medicine doctors.
The new regulations aims to reclassifies cannabis buds as a controlled herb under the strictest Controlled Herbs Regulation. The new regulation is issued under the Protection and Promotion of Thai Traditional Medicine Knowledge Act 1999, replacing the 2022 announcement, which classified cannabis as a controlled herb without specifying any particular part of the plant. However, Anyone wishing to conduct research, export, distribute or process cannabis buds for commercial purposes must obtain a licence under Section 46 of the law. They must strictly follow conditions, including a ban on sales in public areas, a prohibition on advertising through any channel, and a ban on selling via vending machines or online platforms.
Furthermore this version differs from the previous one in that it has eliminated 15 disease groups and left blank spaces for physicians to write their own diseases, within seven professional fields—medicine, Thai traditional medicine, Thai traditional medicine practitioner, dentistry, pharmacy, Chinese medicine practitioner, and folk doctor—there is a space to enter the dispenser’s name, license number, certificate, and address. The patient’s entire name, age, nationality, ID number or passport, and symptoms must then be given for which the drug should be prescribed, along with the amount to be used per day. Number of days to use and total amount to use
Dr Somruek Juengsaman, Director-General of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine stated that 12,000 out of 18,000 weed shops will have to renew their licenses, which must be changed to become clinics or hospitals with permanent practitioners. These shops must register or renew their registration. Accordingly, stores will progressively modify their layouts this year. So all of the 12,000 weed shops will be shut down completely and transform into a fully clinic model.
