This guide sets out the legal status of cannabis, CBD and hemp across Asia and in the overseas markets that trade with Asian growers. It comes in two parts. Part 1 covers Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia. Part 2 covers East Asia, South Asia, Israel, Germany and the Czech Republic, and ends with the main regional trends.
Before you read
Three ideas come up in almost every country section:
- THC and CBD. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the compound in cannabis that causes the high. CBD (cannabidiol) does not cause a high. Many laws set a THC limit by weight, such as 0.2% or 0.3%.
- Hemp. Hemp is cannabis grown for fibre, seed or CBD, with THC below a legal limit. Some countries regulate hemp separately from cannabis. Others make no distinction at all.
- Decriminalised is not the same as legal. Decriminalised usually means a small amount brings a fine instead of a criminal case. It does not mean you may buy, sell or grow.
Thai laws are dated in the Buddhist Era (B.E.). Subtract 543 to get the Western year. B.E. 2568 is 2025, and B.E. 2569 is 2026.
Each country section starts with a one-line status, then lists the rules. It ends with a translator’s note that gives you one step you can take.
Thailand
Status: medical use only — cannabis flower is a controlled herb
Thailand legalised medical cannabis in 2018, the first country in Asia to do so. In 2022 it briefly decriminalised recreational use. From 2025 the government moved back to a medical-only system, one regulation at a time.
The rule changes, in order
| Date | Rule (short name) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 26 June 2025 | Controlled Herbs (Cannabis) Notification, B.E. 2568 | Cannabis flower becomes a controlled herb under the Thai Traditional Medicine Protection Act B.E. 2542 (1999) |
| 26 April 2026 | Ministerial Regulation on cannabis or hemp extracts, B.E. 2569 | Extracts with more than 0.2% THC by weight remain Category 5 narcotics and need a licence |
| 30 April 2026 | Ministerial Regulation on Controlled Herbs (No. 2), B.E. 2569 | Adds stricter licence conditions for cannabis flower |
| 22 September 2026 | Draft Cannabis Control Act | Cabinet approved the draft (formerly called the Cannabis and Hemp Act) and sent it to the House of Representatives. It is not law yet |
The full official titles are in the reference list at the end.
A controlled herb is a plant that the Ministry of Public Health regulates under traditional-medicine law. Selling the flower needs a licence and a prescription. Category 5 is one of the classes in Thai narcotics law. Producing, importing, exporting, selling or holding a Category 5 substance needs a licence.
What the rules mean in practice
- Buying flower. Cannabis flower may be sold only against a PT 33 prescription. PT 33 (ภ.ท.33) is the official prescription form, written by a licensed practitioner. One prescription covers at most 30 days.
- Recreational use is prohibited.
- Advertising and online sale of cannabis flower are both prohibited.
- Strong extracts. Licences for extracts above 0.2% THC go only to three groups. These are Thai juristic persons (registered companies and other legal entities) that are not “foreign” under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), state agencies, and the Thai Red Cross Society.
- Shops are closing. Public Health Ministry data as of 28 December 2025 counted 18,433 cannabis shops nationwide. Of the 8,636 whose licences expired in 2025, 7,297 did not renew and closed.
Penalties. Earlier versions of this article warned that published sources give different maximum penalties. Section 78 of the 1999 Act sets up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both. Read the official Thai text for the offence that applies to you before you rely on this figure.
CBD and hemp in Thailand
The original version of this article said that extracts below 0.2% THC are unrestricted and that hemp-derived products are “freely available”. That goes too far. Extracts below the limit do not need the narcotics licence described above. But a finished product may still need approval from the Thai Food and Drug Administration (อย., Thai FDA), for example as a food, cosmetic or health product. Growing hemp (กัญชง) may also need a permit. Ask the agency in writing which approval or permit applies to your product or crop.
Who needs which licence
Translator’s note: the original article listed the rules but did not say which licence a grower needs or whom to ask. Use the table below as a starting point. Confirm every line with the agency before you invest.
| What you do | What you need | Whom to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Grow, process or sell cannabis flower as a business | Controlled-herb licence; stricter conditions since 30 April 2026 | Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (กรมการแพทย์แผนไทยและการแพทย์ทางเลือก) |
| Grow cannabis at home | Not confirmed here. Ask before you plant, and keep the written reply | Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine |
| Produce, import, export, sell or hold extracts above 0.2% THC | Licence under the B.E. 2569 extract regulation; only the three groups listed above | Thai FDA (อย.) |
| Grow hemp | A permit may be needed. Ask which one applies | Ask the Thai FDA (อย.) in writing which agency is responsible |
| Sell CBD or hemp products below 0.2% THC | Product approval or registration may be needed | Thai FDA (อย.) |
| Export flower | GACP certification for growing, usually GMP for processing, plus export permits. See the export pathway | Ask the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine in writing |
GACP (Good Agricultural and Collection Practice) is a quality standard for growing and harvesting medicinal plants. GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) is a quality standard for processing and packing.
Translator’s note: Thai cannabis rules changed three times between June 2025 and April 2026, and a draft Act followed in September 2026. Keep one dated folder per crop. Put in it your licence, seed or clone purchase receipts, and every certificate of analysis (the lab report showing THC and CBD content). The folder lets you prove the legal source and THC level of your plants at an inspection.
Translator’s note: before you apply for a licence or buy equipment, download the current text from the Royal Gazette (ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, the official journal where Thai laws are published). Then ask the agency your question in writing and keep the reply. This shows you are working from the current version, and it gives you a record of the advice you received.
Thailand’s neighbours: read this before you travel or trade
Translator’s note: a PT 33 prescription and a Thai licence are Thai documents. Do not assume they protect you in another country. Before you carry, post or sell any cannabis, CBD or hemp product across a border, read that country’s section below.
Indonesia
Status: strict prohibition — severe penalties
- Cannabis is a Group I narcotic under Law 35 of 2009. This is the most severe category, the same one as heroin.
- The law makes no distinction between THC and CBD. Every cannabis derivative is illegal, including CBD and hemp.
- Penalties: possession, growing and supply all carry long prison terms and large fines. Since 2 January 2026 the main narcotics offences are in the new Criminal Code (Law 1 of 2023, articles 609 and 610), as adjusted by Law 1 of 2026. Check the current figures in those texts.
- Trafficking: large-scale trafficking can still carry the death penalty.
- In May 2025 the BNN (Badan Narkotika Nasional, the National Narcotics Agency) announced research into medical cannabis. No policy has changed.
- The new Criminal Code (KUHP), in force since 2 January 2026, did not decriminalise cannabis. It moved the main narcotics offences out of Law 35 of 2009 and into the Code.
- Travellers: medical cannabis brought from your home country, including CBD, will be confiscated. Officers treat it as evidence of drug trafficking.
Translator’s note: before a trip to Indonesia, remove every cannabis, CBD and hemp product from your luggage. That includes products bought legally in Thailand. Indonesian law treats them all as narcotics, so you avoid a trafficking investigation at the airport.
Malaysia
Status: prohibited — severe penalties
- Cannabis is a dangerous drug under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
- Holding 200 g or more of cannabis is presumed to be trafficking. Trafficking is punishable by death or life imprisonment, plus whipping if the death sentence is not imposed. Since the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023, the death penalty is no longer mandatory. The judge decides.
- In 2021 the government allowed imports of pharmaceutical products containing medical cannabis, under strict conditions.
- CBD: not explicitly legal. It falls under the dangerous drugs classification.
- Public discussion of medical cannabis has grown, but no law had changed as of 2026.
Translator’s note: treat any amount of cannabis or CBD as a serious crime in Malaysia. A patient there needs a Malaysian doctor or hospital to use the 2021 pharmaceutical import route. Do not send Thai products, because they fall outside that route.
Singapore
Status: zero tolerance — among the strictest laws in the world
- The Misuse of Drugs Act sets severe penalties. Trafficking more than 500 g of cannabis can carry the death penalty.
- Possession, consumption and growing are all criminal offences.
- By 2021, two patients with drug-resistant epilepsy had received special permission to use a cannabis-derived medicine. No wider programme exists.
- CBD: illegal. It counts as a controlled substance whatever its THC content.
- In 2018 Singapore’s National Research Foundation funded research to make cannabinoids without growing the plant, as part of a five-year synthetic biology programme. Synthetic cannabinoids are lab-made compounds that act like the compounds in the plant.
Translator’s note: under section 8A of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Singapore citizens and permanent residents can be prosecuted for consuming controlled drugs abroad, including in Thailand. If you have Singaporean staff or partners on a Thai farm, ask them to check this first. A urine test on return may cover use that was legal where it happened.
Cambodia
Status: illegal on paper — widely tolerated
- Cannabis is a controlled substance under the Law on Drug Control of 2012, which updated the 1996 drug law. Cannabis is listed in Table I, the most dangerous class.
- In practice, use is openly tolerated in many tourist areas and traditional communities.
- Cannabis has long been used in Cambodian cooking. Tourist areas sell dishes such as “happy pizza”.
- There is no medical cannabis programme.
- CBD: no specific rules.
- Police focus on trafficking, not personal use.
Translator’s note: tolerance is not a licence. Do not plan any business, seed shipment or plant transport in Cambodia on the basis of what police allow today. The law still allows arrest, and enforcement can change without notice.
Philippines
Status: prohibited — a medical cannabis bill is moving forward
- Cannabis is illegal under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act (Republic Act 9165).
- Possession: 12 years to life in prison, plus fines of up to 10 million pesos.
- CBD: the Philippine Food and Drug Administration issues a Compassionate Special Permit (CSP). It allows imports of cannabis-derived medicines without THC, such as CBD oils, for specific serious conditions. Access is extremely limited.
- Hemp: illegal. The law does not separate hemp from cannabis.
- February 2026: the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs and on Health jointly approved a consolidated medical cannabis bill. It would set up a Medical Cannabis Office in the Department of Health and licensed Medical Cannabis Compassionate Centers. Cannabis would stay on the dangerous drugs list under Republic Act 9165.
- The bill still needs plenary approval in the House and approval by the Senate. Similar bills passed the House in 2019 and 2024 but never became law.
- If it passes, the original article expects the Philippines to become one of the largest medical cannabis markets in Southeast Asia.
Translator’s note: if you hope to export to the Philippines, follow the medical cannabis bill but do not plan sales yet. A market only opens after the law passes and the implementing rules say who may import, and to what standard.
Laos
Status: cannabis illegal — hemp activities approved
- Cannabis is illegal under the Law on Narcotics (2007) and the Penal Code (2017).
- Ministry of Health Decision No. 3789/MOH of 28 December 2022 approved regulated hemp activities. These cover growing, extraction, production, processing, storage, distribution, import and export.
- Companies need approval from the Ministry of Health and from the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
- The narcotics law and the 2022 hemp Decision contradict each other. Work to align them is still pending.
- CBD and hemp: hemp activity is permitted under the 2022 Decision, but the legal position is unclear.
- Recreational use is informally tolerated in some tourist areas, but it remains illegal.
Translator’s note: before you invest in a hemp project in Laos, get a written legal opinion from a lawyer qualified in Lao law. Ask it to cover both the 2022 Decision and the narcotics law. Because the two conflict, you need to know which one an official is likely to apply.
Myanmar
Status: strict prohibition
- Cannabis is illegal for both recreational and medical use under the 1993 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, amended on 14 February 2018.
- Growing, sale, transport, import or export: long prison terms. The exact ranges after the 2018 amendment could not be confirmed here.
- There is no medical cannabis programme.
- Chinese companies have looked into growing non-intoxicating cannabis in Myanmar for industrial use. This would need a change to the drug law.
- CBD and hemp: no legal framework.
Translator’s note: do not send seeds, clones, plants or products across the Thai–Myanmar border. Even hemp with no psychoactive effect counts as an illegal drug there, and transport offences carry long prison sentences.
Vietnam
Translator’s note: the original article did not cover Vietnam. Cannabis is illegal under the Law on Drug Prevention and Control (2021) and the 2015 Penal Code (amended 2017). Growing 500 or more cannabis plants is a crime under Article 247, with up to 7 years in prison. Under Article 251, trading 75 kg or more of cannabis leaves, flowers or other plant parts can bring 20 years, life imprisonment or death. No medical cannabis programme or legal framework for CBD was found. The rules for traditional hemp growing could not be confirmed. Until this is confirmed, do not bring cannabis, CBD or hemp products into Vietnam. Do not grow any cannabis plant there.
Brunei
Translator’s note: the original article did not cover Brunei either. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act (Chapter 27), possession, use and trafficking of cannabis are criminal offences, and trafficking large amounts can carry the death penalty. The exact threshold, and how CBD is treated, could not be confirmed here. Until this is confirmed, treat Brunei like Singapore. Carry nothing, and send nothing.
Southeast Asia at a glance
allowed · 
limited or with conditions · 
prohibited
| Country | Medical | Recreational | CBD | Hemp | Death penalty risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | PT 33 prescription |
Prohibited |
Below 0.2% THC, product approval may be needed |
Ask about permits |
No |
| Indonesia | |
Severe |
No THC/CBD distinction |
|
Trafficking |
| Malaysia | Pharmaceutical imports only |
Severe |
|
|
Trafficking (200 g+ presumed); not mandatory since 2023 |
| Singapore | |
Zero tolerance |
|
|
Above 500 g |
| Cambodia | |
Tolerated, still illegal |
No rules |
No rules |
No |
| Philippines | Bill moving forward |
Severe |
CSP only |
|
No |
| Laos | |
|
Under the hemp Decision |
2022 Decision |
No |
| Myanmar | |
Strict |
|
|
Not confirmed |
| Vietnam | |
Strict |
No framework found |
Not confirmed |
Trafficking 75 kg+ |
| Brunei | None found |
Strict |
Not confirmed, treat as banned |
Not confirmed, treat as banned |
Trafficking |
Translator’s note: save or print this table, and check it again before every trip or shipment. Rules in the region changed several times in 2025–2026, and one out-of-date row could put you on the wrong side of a border law.
Questions and updates
Has a rule changed in your country? Post it below this topic, with the date and a link to the official source, so other growers can check it. Questions about licences in Thailand are welcome here too.
This article is for information and education only. Cannabis laws change often. Always check the current rules with official government sources in your country before you act. This forum does not give legal advice.
References
- Thailand: Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis), B.E. 2568 (2025); Ministerial Regulation on Permission to Produce, Import, Export, Sell or Possess Category 5 Narcotics, Specifically Cannabis or Hemp Extracts, B.E. 2569 (2026); Ministerial Regulation on Controlled Herbs (No. 2), B.E. 2569 (2026); Thai Traditional Medicine Protection Act B.E. 2542 (1999), section 78. Official texts: Royal Gazette (ratchakitcha.soc.go.th).
- Indonesia: Law 35 of 2009 on Narcotics; Criminal Code (Law 1 of 2023, in force 2 January 2026), articles 609–610; Law 1 of 2026 on Penal Adjustment
- Malaysia: Dangerous Drugs Act 1952
- Singapore: Misuse of Drugs Act
- Cambodia: Law on Drug Control 2012
- Philippines: Republic Act 9165; consolidated medical cannabis bill approved by the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs and Health (February 2026)
- Laos: 2022 Decision on Hemp Activities; Tilleke & Gibbins analysis
- Myanmar: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law 1993, amended by Law No. 6 of 2018
- General: Cannigma Asia Cannabis Legal Map 2026
Continued in Part 2: Cannabis Laws Across Asia and Key Global Markets, 2026: East Asia, South Asia, Israel and Europe (Part 2 of 2)