Most advertising breaches at Thai cannabis shops do not come from the owner. They come from staff posts, replies to reviews, press interviews and messaging-app answers. This guide covers those everyday decisions, plus partnerships with clinics and what happens during an inspection.
The core rule is short. Since 26 June 2025, cannabis flower has been a controlled herb under the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis), B.E. 2568. Flower may be sold only face to face against a PT 33 (ภ.ท. 33) prescription, covering at most 30 days. Advertising flower and selling it online are both banned.
This is Part 2. Part 1: How to Promote Your Cannabis Shop in Thailand Without Losing Your Licence
Training your staff on what they may post
The most common source of breaches is not deliberate law-breaking. It is staff making quick marketing decisions without knowing where the legal line sits.
An example: a new employee posts “just got in some amazing Gelato, so smooth, come visit us!” on the shop’s Instagram account. That post is a breach, and the legal liability is the owner’s.
Training should cover three areas.
- Personal accounts. What may staff post on their own accounts when it is visible that they work at the shop? Nothing about specific products, what is in stock, or how a customer found a specific strain.
- Messaging apps versus in person. A LINE message asks “what’s your best sativa?”. Answering with a product name and price is an online sale offer. The same answer given in person, inside the licensed premises, is a normal face-to-face conversation.
- Who may post on official accounts. Name one or two people. They should have read the advertising ban in its original Thai text.
Ask each staff member to sign a written training record. It helps them really understand the rules. It also shows you took reasonable steps to prevent breaches, if a staff post is ever investigated.
What to do now: list every account linked to your shop, write down who may post on each, and get the training records signed this month.
Checking every social media post before it goes out
Run each post through these five questions:
- Does it name a specific product with a price?
- Does it use a THC, CBD or terpene percentage as a sign of quality or a reason to buy?
- Does it offer delivery, online ordering or a payment link?
- Does it claim the product treats, cures or relieves a specific condition?
- Does it mention a country where cannabis is not legal and suggest that people there could buy from you?
If the answer to any question is yes, rewrite the post until every answer is no, or do not publish it.
The check applies to every account connected to the business. That includes the official shop account, owners’ personal accounts that feature the shop prominently, any “ambassador” accounts linked to the shop, and any group or community the shop runs.
What to do now: print the five questions and stick them next to the computer or phone used for posting.
Replying to customer reviews
You cannot control what customers write. A review saying “amazing White Widow, 28% THC, best price in town” is not your legal liability. Your reply to that review is.
A compliant reply thanks the customer for the visit without repeating the product details: “Thank you for visiting us – we look forward to seeing you again.”
A non-compliant reply repeats or endorses the product claim: “Glad you enjoyed the White Widow! Our premium selection starts at…”. That reply turns the customer’s review into your advertisement.
Negative reviews that name a product or a price follow the same rule. Reply about the experience, not the product. Never reply in public with prices, product comparisons or THC figures.
What to do now: reread your last 20 review replies and edit any that repeat a strain name, a price or a percentage.
Working with Thai media and journalists
Press coverage of cannabis businesses sits in a grey area. An independent news interview about your business is not paid promotion. Prices and product details in it can still work as advertising, so leave them out.
In practice, keep a clear line between news coverage and paid “advertorial” content. Paid content that promotes your flower is advertising.
Three kinds of content carry the most risk:
- Press releases that include product price lists.
- “Sponsored content” on news sites that tells readers how to buy.
- Video tours of shops on YouTube channels with purchase links in them.
What they share: each piece works as a direct sales pitch, whatever it is called.
What to say to the press. Talk freely about the rules, the history of your business, the general types of products you carry, and how you stay compliant.
What not to say. Do not give product prices, THC percentages or which strains you have in stock, in any form that will be published. Journalists who cover the sector understand this. Professional Thai publications generally respect it.
What to do now: before any interview, tell the journalist in writing that you will not give prices, percentages or stock.
Partnerships with clinics and practitioners
Some shops work with Thai traditional medicine clinics or individual practitioners to make the PT 33 process easier for patients. These arrangements are regulated but not banned. Their rules are separate from the advertising rules.
Sharing premises. If your shop shares a building with a licensed Thai traditional medicine clinic, keep the dispensing area physically separate and make clear that two separately licensed businesses are there. Confirm the layout with DTAM or a Thai lawyer before you open.
Do not pay for prescriptions. Give no reward to a practitioner for issuing PT 33 prescriptions that are then filled at your shop. That includes a revenue share or a referral fee. Payment for prescriptions is a serious professional-conduct risk for the practitioner and a legal risk for your shop.
Honest referrals are allowed. A practitioner may send patients to a shop they trust for its quality or because it is close, as long as no money changes hands. If you put any such relationship in writing, have a Thai lawyer check the structure first. The aim is to make sure it does not create liability by accident.
What to do now: list every payment between your shop and any practitioner, and show that list to your lawyer.
What happens during an inspection, and how to prepare
DTAM (the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine) and provincial public health officers carry out both scheduled and unannounced inspections. The usual checklist for a licensed shop covers:
- the licence: valid and on display;
- the practitioner: credentials, and whether they are on duty;
- stock records;
- the PT 33 prescription log;
- a look for banned signs.
For a single shop, an inspection usually takes 30 to 90 minutes.
Inspectors’ identity cards. Under Section 74 of the 1999 Act, inspectors must show their identity card when they perform their duties. If they do not, you may politely ask for it before opening the stock area. That is a legal right, not a confrontation. Section 73 lets them enter premises during business hours to inspect, so no written order is required.
One compliance folder. Keep one folder, paper or digital, holding:
- the licence;
- the practitioner’s certificate;
- proof of the practitioner’s on-duty schedule;
- the latest stock count;
- the PT 33 prescription log, sorted by date.
The aim is speed. An inspector who finds every document in five minutes tends to leave after 30 minutes, not 90.
If the inspector records a possible breach. The finding is written down before the inspector leaves, and you get a chance to respond or explain on the spot. Do not argue at the shop. Sign the record only to confirm you received it, not to admit the breach. Then contact a Thai lawyer before you send any written reply.
Translator’s note: if a suspension or revocation order follows, Section 70 of the 1999 Act lets you appeal to the Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Thai Traditional Medicine Knowledge within 30 days of being notified. The appeal does not stop the order, so the shop stays closed while it is heard. Under Section 71, the Committee’s decision is final. Running the business while suspended is itself an offence under Section 52 paragraph 2, with a penalty under Section 78 of up to 1 year in prison and/or a fine of up to 20,000 baht.
What to do now: build the folder this week, and time how long it takes a staff member to find each document.
Growing through word of mouth, legally
Word of mouth is the main way compliant Thai cannabis shops grow. It works through personal conversation, not advertising. One patient telling another about a shop they trust is not advertising and is not banned.
What helps word of mouth grow:
- steady product quality;
- a clear, professional PT 33 process that respects patients’ time;
- staff who can explain strain characteristics in person without overstating effects;
- a shop where patients feel comfortable coming back.
Online communities where patients share experiences follow the same principle. That includes this forum’s Medical Cannabis category. A patient writing “I’ve been going to X dispensary for four months and I trust their sourcing” is not an advertisement. If the shop shares or answers that post and adds prices or product claims, it becomes one.
What to do now: when a patient praises your shop online, leave it alone, or reply only with thanks.
Summary checklist for shop owners
Premises
- Licence displayed inside, where an inspector can see it.
- A practitioner on duty whenever flower is dispensed.
- Nothing about flower, prices or products is visible from outside.
- Stock stored in a locked, separate area.
Records
- PT 33 prescription log up to date and kept at the shop.
- Stock ledger updated daily.
- Adverse event log (a record of any bad reaction a customer reports) kept up to date.
Online
- No price lists on any public channel.
- No online ordering function.
- No THC percentage claims in posts or replies.
- Staff trained on what they may and may not post personally.
Inspections
- One compliance folder ready at all times.
- Staff know to ask for the inspector’s identity card.
- Do not admit a breach verbally. Get the finding in writing, and reply in writing with legal help.
This checklist does not replace a compliance review by a Thai lawyer. It is a starting point for daily habits that keep a shop clear of problems at most routine inspections.
References
- Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis), B.E. 2568 — Royal Gazette, 25 June 2025; in force 26 June 2025
- Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, administrative guideline on licence suspension and revocation, June 2026
- Protection and Promotion of Thai Traditional Medicine Knowledge Act B.E. 2542 (1999), Sections 52, 70, 71 and 78
- Ministerial Regulation on Controlled Herbs (No. 2) B.E. 2569 — in force 30 April 2026
- Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 (1979), provisions on advertising and misleading commercial communications
- Medical Profession Act B.E. 2525 (1982), provisions on professional conduct
- Thai Traditional Medicine Professional Act B.E. 2556 (2013), licensing and conduct requirements
General information, not legal advice. Talk to a Thai lawyer about your own shop. If you have a question about a specific post or situation, ask it in a reply below.