Since April 2026, a licence to sell cannabis flower in Thailand depends on a medical, pharmacy or herbal-medicine licence. An ordinary shop registration is no longer enough. Shops run like ordinary retail stores are the ones losing their licences in 2026. This two-part guide explains what you need to keep a dispensary licence, and what gets a licence suspended.
What this guide covers
A cannabis dispensary (ร้านจำหน่ายกัญชา) is a shop that sells cannabis flower, cannabis extracts or products containing cannabis. Ministry of Public Health figures show 18,433 licensed cannabis shops as of 28 December 2025. Of the 8,636 shop licences that expired during 2025, only 1,339 were renewed, so 7,297 shops closed. These closures came before the April 2026 regulations.
Part 1 covers:
- what the April 2026 regulations changed
- the four requirements for keeping a flower licence
- the three findings that most often lead to a suspension
- what you may sell, and to whom
- the legal risks for growshops (shops that sell growing equipment)
- a routine calendar for a licensed dispensary
Part 2 covers inspections, staff cover, renewal, compliance costs, online sales and the complaint log.
Translator’s note: This guide is general information, not legal advice. For decisions about your own licence, ask a Thai lawyer who works with cannabis licences.
What the April 2026 regulations changed
Two ministerial regulations of B.E. 2569 narrowed who may sell cannabis in Thailand. A ministerial regulation is a detailed rule that a minister issues under an Act. These two came into force four days apart.
The extracts regulation, in force 26 April 2026
Its short name is the Ministerial Regulation on Cannabis or Hemp Extracts B.E. 2569. It was issued under the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564. It covers extracts with more than 0.2% THC. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main intoxicating compound in cannabis.
- Licences for these extracts go only to three kinds of holder: Thai juristic persons (registered companies and other legal entities) that are not “foreign” under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, state agencies, and the Thai Red Cross Society.
- A company that counts as foreign under that Act cannot get a licence to produce these extracts.
- Licences are limited to four purposes: medical use, study and research, industrial use, and use by state agencies to prevent and suppress narcotics offences.
- In practice, selling these extracts for recreational use has ended.
The flower regulation (No. 2), in force 30 April 2026
Its short name is the Ministerial Regulation on Controlled Herbs (No. 2) B.E. 2569. It comes under the Thai Traditional Medicine Protection Act B.E. 2542 (1999), not the Narcotics Code. Cannabis flower is a controlled herb under that Act. The state regulates it through Thai traditional medicine law, not through narcotics law.
- It sets four criteria for every new or renewed licence to sell flower.
- It ends the stand-alone retail dispensary model that operated from 2022 to 2025.
Translator’s note: Section 4 of the 1999 Act says its regulations and notifications take effect when they are published in the Royal Gazette (ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, the official government journal). That is why the flower regulation applies from 30 April 2026, not 1 May. A separate document governs the sale itself: the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis), B.E. 2568, in force since 26 June 2025. Under it, flower may only be sold against a PT 33 (ภ.ท.33) prescription, for at most 30 days. Under the same Notification, advertising and online sale of flower are prohibited.
What this means for you: if you opened a stand-alone retail dispensary between 2022 and 2025, you no longer qualify. You can keep selling flower only if your business also holds a medical, pharmacy or herbal licence. This guide calls that a “qualifying licence” (see requirement 3).
What to do: list every licence and registration your business holds today, with its address and expiry date. You will need this list in every section below.
The four requirements for keeping a flower licence
The No. 2 regulation lists four criteria. They apply when you first apply. They apply again at every renewal.
1. Control of the premises
You must own the premises. If you rent, you need written consent from the owner. The address on your cannabis licence must match the address on your qualifying licence exactly.
Say your herbal-product licence covers unit 3A, but your cannabis licence lists unit 3B. According to the original article, this kind of mismatch is one of the three most common reasons for suspension.
What to do: before renewal, lay all your licences and registrations side by side. Check that every address is identical, down to the floor and unit number. This one check prevents a refusal or suspension caused only by paperwork.
2. Separate, dedicated storage
Cannabis flower may not share storage space with other goods. The regulation requires storage equipment “maintained in good quality” and kept off the floor. Inspectors check this on the spot.
A locked, labelled cabinet kept apart from general stock meets this requirement, with the stock log attached to it. Photograph the storage when you apply for the licence. Do not change the layout without first telling the licensing authority. The photos prove that your set-up matches what was approved.
Translator’s note: Thai heat and rainy-season humidity can spoil flower in a closed cabinet. Place the cabinet out of direct sun and away from damp outer walls. A simple thermometer–hygrometer inside the cabinet shows when conditions drift, especially after a power cut stops the air conditioning. Target ranges are in the forum topic on storage conditions.
What to do: set up the locked cabinet and its log now, and file the photos with your licence documents.
3. A qualifying licence: the hardest requirement
For most stand-alone shops, this is the hardest criterion to meet. You must hold at least one of these:
- a licence to operate a healthcare facility (สถานพยาบาล), such as a hospital or clinic
- a licence to run a modern pharmacy, or a drug manufacturing licence
- a licence to produce, import or sell herbal products
- a licence for a plant that produces cannabis or hemp extracts
- certification as a folk healer (หมอพื้นบ้าน, a traditional healer recognised by the state)
- a cultivation site that sells flower to other licensed businesses, such as drug or herbal factories and drug or herbal shops
A shop that holds only a cannabis licence no longer qualifies. If that describes your shop, your renewal date is your real deadline.
What to do: find out now which qualifying licence you can realistically get, and how long it takes. Without one, the authority will refuse your renewal.
4. A trained person on duty during all opening hours
DTAM is the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, part of the Ministry of Public Health. At least one person who has completed DTAM’s cannabis-handling training must be in the shop every hour it is open to the public.
This training used to be optional. Now it is a full-time staffing cost. If your trained person is sick, the shop must stay closed until a qualified replacement arrives. There is no grace period.
Accepted qualifications are:
- licensed pharmacist
- physician
- Thai traditional medicine practitioner
- a person who has completed DTAM’s official cannabis-handling training
What to do: train at least two staff members, and make a rule that the shop stays shut if neither is there. Part 2 explains how to plan this cover.
The three findings that most often lead to suspension
In 2025–2026, inspectors have focused on three violations. All three are easy to check during a surprise visit. None of them can be fixed while the inspector is in the shop.
- Address mismatch. The name, address or unit number on your cannabis licence differs from your qualifying licence. Inspectors compare them during the visit. The original article reports notices issued just because a floor number was written differently in the Thai and English versions.
- No qualified person on duty. The inspector arrives, and nobody present can show a DTAM certificate. This is an immediate violation. It makes no difference that the trained person was there ten minutes earlier.
- Missing or backdated records. These records must be up to date and ready for inspection: stock logs, PT 33 prescription records (for medical dispensaries) and batch records, which show which production batch each sale came from. Gaps in the previous 30 days count as non-compliance, not as a minor administrative slip.
What to do: once a week, check these three things the way an inspector would. Compare the addresses, confirm a certificate holder is on the roster for every opening hour, and look for gaps in the last 30 days of records. Anything you find yourself can still be fixed before an inspector finds it.
What you may sell, and to whom
Under the current rules:
- Medical dispensaries run as part of a clinic or pharmacy may sell cannabis to patients with a valid prescription from a licensed practitioner. Each prescription covers at most 30 days of supply.
- Herbal-product shops with the right qualifying licence may sell low-THC products (0.2% THC or less) as wellness products. They must not make therapeutic claims, such as saying a product treats a disease.
- Selling to walk-in customers without a prescription for recreational use has not been a legal business model anywhere in Thailand since the B.E. 2568 Notification took effect on 26 June 2025.
The B.E. 2568 Notification also bans these:
- selling flower in temples or other places for religious rites, in dormitories, or in public parks, zoos and amusement parks
- selling through vending machines
- selling flower for smoking on the premises, except by licensed practitioners treating their own patients
DTAM’s June 2026 enforcement guideline treats selling to young people as a serious violation that can lead to revocation of the licence.
Translator’s note: Section 78 of the 1999 Act sets the criminal penalty for selling a controlled herb without a licence (Section 46). The penalty is up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both. Some articles mention a “3 months / 25,000 baht” penalty. No such penalty exists in the Act.
What to do: check the ID of any customer who might be under 20. Never complete a flower sale without a valid PT 33 prescription in hand. These two checks prevent the most serious sales violations.
Growshops: where the legal risks are
A shop that sells only growing equipment does not sell cannabis. Its legal risk is indirect, but it is real.
- Marketing wording. Material in the shop or online that openly targets illegal home growing can create liability for aiding and abetting. That means helping someone else commit an offence. The original article placed this under the Narcotics Code, but cannabis flower is now a controlled herb, not a narcotic. Which law applies depends on the facts, so ask a Thai lawyer. Neutral, technical wording about growing plants in general is safer than product bundles marketed as “cannabis-optimised”.
- Staff advice. Staff who recommend an equipment set-up for an unlicensed grow create the same risk. Train staff to answer growing questions only in the context of licensed operations.
- Age. The law targets cannabis sales directly. Even so, consider a customer who looks under 20 and says they are growing cannabis for personal use. Selling them grow equipment creates a documented risk.
- Invoices. Keep detailed sales records. Police may later find equipment you sold at an unlicensed grow site. The original article calls a clear invoice trail showing the buyer and stated purpose your best available defence.
Translator’s note: how much an invoice trail protects you depends on the facts of each case. If police contact your shop about a customer, speak to a Thai lawyer as early as possible.
What to do: this month, review your shop signs, product names and social media posts. Remove any wording that links your products to unlicensed cannabis growing.
Routine calendar for a licensed dispensary
| How often | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Before opening, confirm a DTAM-trained person is present. Record the opening stock. | Meets requirement 4 and keeps the stock record current. |
| Every sale | Record the prescription number, patient ID, product batch and quantity on the PT 33 record. | Lets an inspector match every sale to a prescription. |
| Weekly | Count the physical stock and compare it with the log. Investigate any difference at once. | An unexplained difference can trigger a false-reporting investigation. |
| Monthly | Check the storage conditions. Dispose of expired stock through licensed channels, and record it. | Shows the storage is “maintained in good quality” and that no stock leaves unrecorded. |
| Before renewal | Check that all licence addresses match. Confirm the qualifying licence is valid. Re-check the DTAM training of every staff member. | Address mismatch and a missing qualifying licence are the main reasons renewals are refused. |
Summary
Since April 2026, a compliant dispensary in Thailand needs four things at the same time:
- a qualifying medical, pharmacy or herbal licence
- a DTAM-trained person physically present during every opening hour
- identical addresses on every licence
- stock records kept up to date in real time
If any one of the four is missing, your licence is at risk of suspension.
What to do next: print the calendar above and post it near the counter. If you have questions or inspection experiences to share, post them in the replies below this topic.
References
- Ministry of Public Health Thailand. (2025). Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis), B.E. 2568. Royal Gazette, published 25 June 2025, in force 26 June 2025. https://www.dtam.moph.go.th/sub-law/42864/
- Ministry of Public Health Thailand. (2026). Ministerial Regulation on Permission to Study, Research or Export Controlled Herbs, or to Sell or Process Controlled Herbs for Commercial Purposes (No. 2) B.E. 2569 (2026) (unofficial English title). Royal Gazette, in force 30 April 2026. https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/114061.pdf
- Ministry of Public Health Thailand. (2026). Ministerial Regulation on Permission to Produce, Import, Export, Sell or Possess Category 5 Narcotics, Specifically Cannabis or Hemp Extracts, B.E. 2569 (2026) (unofficial English title). Royal Gazette, in force 26 April 2026.
- Thai Traditional Medicine Protection Act B.E. 2542 (1999), Sections 4, 46 and 78 (cited in translator’s notes).
Continued in Part 2: Running a Cannabis Dispensary in Thailand Without Losing Your Licence: Inspections, Staff Cover, Renewal, Online Rules and the Adverse-Event Log (Part 2 of 2)