“Cannabis will be classified as a narcotic in the future,” Thai Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said. The Ministry of Public Health had just issued an order that cannabis be sold only with a medical prescription, which ended recreational sales in the country.
Thailand made headlines in 2022 as the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis. Removing the plant from the narcotics list, though, did not come with a clear legal framework for growing, selling or distributing it. Over 18,000 dispensaries opened, mostly in tourist hubs such as Bangkok and Pattaya. The Thai Chamber of Commerce had projected the industry, across recreational, medicinal and wellness uses, could be worth US$1.2 billion by 2025.
What the new order requires
The order reclassifies cannabis buds as a controlled herbal medicine. Shops must check that each prescription is valid, including the doctor’s registration, the diagnosis and the dosage. Dosage is typically capped at 1 gram a day or 30 grams a month, and purchases above those limits will be investigated as possible recreational abuse. Random compliance checks and online training for doctors and shop staff were due to begin in July.
The details of how prescriptions would work in practice were still being finalized when The Guardian reported in July. Recent reports suggested shops might have to register with the government as clinics.
Why now
Officials gave public safety as the reason. Government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said many shops sold cannabis for both recreational and medical purposes, “allowing easy access for children and general people,” which he said “contradicts the government’s purpose to crack down on drugs.” Assistant Health Minister Thanakrit Jit-areerat pointed to Roi Et province, where cannabis use by children under 15 has become widespread. Somsak said the changes aim to improve public safety and protect young people.
The timing followed a political break. The Bhumjaithai Party, which had championed legalization, withdrew from the ruling coalition after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was drawn into a diplomatic row with Cambodia. That left a Pheu Thai-led government with a razor-thin majority, and it moved quickly to tighten the rules. Days later more than 100 officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board raided 20 cannabis shops in Bangkok. Officials denied any link between the raids and the coalition split.
Shops and growers react
For people who work in the trade, the shift hit hard. “This is my main source of income,” Punnathat Phutthisawong of Green House Thailand in Bangkok told Reuters. “Many shops are probably just as shocked because a lot of them invested heavily.”
Shop owner Natthakan Punyathanaworakit closed one of her three Bangkok shops after the announcement. “Most of the registered shops will shut down,” she said, and she expects many to go underground. Chokwan Chopaka, another entrepreneur, said earlier rules were never properly enforced and that the new costs fall on small family businesses. On Khao San Road, a worker at a store called iStoned said tourists were scared and fewer were coming in.
Reform advocates said they planned to rally at the health ministry the following month, arguing the move is politically motivated and economically destructive.
Sources
- Haze of confusion in Thailand as government flips on cannabis law
- Thailand Reverses Course on Cannabis, Moves to Recriminalize Amid Political Fallout
