This guide explains what it costs to break Thailand’s advertising and selling rules for cannabis flower, and how to avoid the common mistakes. It is for licensed shops and farms, and for anyone who posts about cannabis on Asiannabis or elsewhere.
First, the basic rules. Since 26 June 2025, cannabis flower (ช่อดอกกัญชา) has been a controlled herb under the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis), B.E. 2568. (“B.E.” is the Buddhist Era year; subtract 543 for the Western year.) Flower may be sold only with a PT 33 (ภ.ท.33) prescription, valid for at most 30 days. Advertising flower is prohibited, and so is selling it online.
This is Part 2. Part 1: Advertising and Selling Rules for Cannabis in Thailand: What You Can and Cannot Post on Asiannabis
5. What a breach costs you
The same breach can bring two kinds of formal penalty at once. One is a criminal penalty. The other is action against your licence. On top of these come practical costs that few operators plan for. For most businesses, losing the licence hurts far more than the fine.
Criminal penalties
| Conduct | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|
| Selling, processing, exporting or researching a controlled herb without a licence (Section 46), or continuing the business while the licence is suspended (Section 52, paragraph 2) | Up to 1 year in prison and/or a fine up to 20,000 baht (Section 78) |
Translator’s note: Section 78 of the 1999 Act covers two acts with the same penalty: up to 1 year in prison and/or a fine of up to 20,000 baht. The first is research, export, sale or processing of a controlled herb without a licence (Section 46). The second is carrying on the business while your licence is suspended (Section 52, paragraph 2). A suspended shop that keeps selling therefore faces a criminal case as well. Stop all controlled-herb business for the whole suspension period.
Licence suspension and revocation
On 22 June 2026, the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM, กรมการแพทย์แผนไทยและการแพทย์ทางเลือก) issued a guideline on administrative orders. It sets out when licences are suspended or revoked for operators licensed for research, export, sale or processing. It applies to every licensed operator. Inspectors apply it during on-site checks.
PT 27 and PT 28 (ภ.ท.27, ภ.ท.28) are the forms on which a licence holder records the cannabis it holds and uses. The reports go to the licensing authority every month.
30-day suspension
- PT 27 or PT 28 reports not prepared, incomplete, or not kept at the premises for inspection.
- Those reports not submitted to the registrar.
- Selling or exporting controlled herbs that are not certified to Good Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP) or an equivalent or higher standard.
- Licence not displayed openly at the premises, or not available electronically when an inspector asks.
- Advertising controlled herbs for commercial purposes.
90-day suspension
- Failing to notify the licensing authority of export details.
- Selling cannabis without a PT 33 prescription from a licensed practitioner.
If inspectors find several breaches, the suspension periods are added together. Section 52 of the 1999 Act limits one suspension order to 90 days.
Immediate revocation
- Filing false PT 27 or PT 28 reports.
- Selling without a PT 33 prescription to anyone under 20, to school or university students, or to pregnant or breastfeeding women.
- Allowing customers to smoke cannabis on the premises.
- Selling through a vending machine or other automated dispenser.
- Selling through online channels, electronic media or a computer network.
- Selling at a temple, a dormitory or a public park.
Repeat breach: if you break the same rule again after a suspension, your licence is revoked at once.
Translator’s note: Under Section 54 of the 1999 Act, a person whose licence is revoked cannot get a licence under the Act again for two years. After that, a new licence is at the licensing authority’s discretion. Clause 8(1)(e) of the 2016 Ministerial Regulation on licensing controlled herbs applies the same two-year ban to the company, its directors, its managers and other responsible persons. Opening a new company with the same management therefore does not get around it.
Translator’s note: You can appeal a suspension or revocation to the Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Thai Traditional Medicine Knowledge. You must appeal within 30 days of being notified (Section 70). The order stays in force while the appeal runs. The Committee’s decision is final (Section 71). Appeals and repeat breaches are explained in more detail in a separate topic. Keep your PT 27, PT 28 and PT 33 records in order, so you have the evidence ready within those 30 days.
Practical costs
- Inspection risk. A public price post or a visible order link gives inspectors free evidence. It is the easiest way to get your shop onto an inspection list.
- No quick restart. As the note above explains, the ban after revocation lasts two years. A new licence after that is not guaranteed. Plan as if revocation ends the business.
- Risk for other members. One shop posting a price list creates a compliance problem for everyone who reads and posts on this forum.
Today, search your own posts on every channel for flower prices, order links and bud close-ups. Remove them before an inspector finds them.
6. Platform traps and how to avoid them
LINE Official Account
LINE Official Accounts (LINE OA, business accounts on the LINE app) have become a main sales channel for dispensaries (licensed cannabis shops) in Thailand. Many operators feel these accounts are private. They are not. LINE OA broadcasts are not private messages, and anyone can screenshot a LINE group chat and send it to the authorities.
The advertising ban applies to LINE OA exactly as it does to any other channel. These common setups create legal risk:
- rich menu buttons (the fixed button bar at the bottom of a LINE OA chat) labelled “Order Now”;
- automatic replies that quote a price per gram when a user types a keyword;
- “member-only” price lists sent as images in broadcast messages.
A follower list does not make any of these legal. The offer to sell is the breach, whatever channel carries it.
A dispensary can legally use LINE OA to:
- send educational updates about the rules;
- announce changes to opening hours;
- share links to published informational articles;
- let customers book an in-store consultation under PT 33 procedures.
This is a narrower list than most operators use LINE OA for today. Open your LINE OA settings and delete order buttons, price auto-replies and old price images in past broadcasts.
Facebook groups and private communities
Setting a Facebook group to “private” gives no legal protection. The ban on advertising flower does not depend on audience size or privacy settings. It works like the rules for prescription medicines, where advertising to any audience is prohibited, however narrow.
Picture a closed group where a member writes “I’m looking for X strain”. A dispensary replies with availability and price. That is an active market, not a private conversation.
The same applies here. “I have stock of [strain], DM me” is the same breach on Asiannabis as on Facebook. The forum’s rules simply apply the legal requirements that bind every member. If you run a group, delete posts that offer stock or prices.
Review platforms and Google Business Profile
Customer reviews on Google Maps, Wongnai (a Thai review app) or any other platform do not cause legal problems for the owner. The condition is that the business does not ask for reviews that mention prices or THC percentages as a reason to buy. THC is tetrahydrocannabinol, the main intoxicating compound in cannabis.
The risk comes when the owner replies in a way that works as advertising. For example: “Thanks! Our White Widow at 500 baht/5g is the best deal in town.” That reply advertises cannabis flower with a price.
A Google Business Profile can show opening hours, an address and a website link. The website must not contain a price list, an online order function or claims about THC percentage. This is the most online presence a compliant dispensary can have.
Check your website and every reply you have written to reviews against these three points: no prices, no ordering, no THC claims.
7. Borderline cases and how to judge them
Selling and advertising flower are clearly prohibited. Some posts are less clear. Here is how to judge five common ones.
“I’m just sharing photos of my plants.” This is fine as growing and community content. It is not fine if the plant is described as “now available at [location]”. It is also not fine if the photo carries shop branding or a price watermark.
“I’m posting about the effects of different terpenes.” Terpenes are the aroma compounds in cannabis. Scientific or educational content about them is fine. It becomes a prohibited health claim if you say a specific product you sell will give the reader a specific therapeutic effect.
“I’m asking whether anyone has tried [strain] for [condition].” The current rules do not clearly address patients sharing personal experience of a prescribed product. The advertising rules target sellers, not patients, so they do not prohibit this. But a testimonial used to promote a specific shop or product creates indirect advertising liability for the business linked to the post.
“My business partner is posting, not me.” A dispensary is responsible for advertising done on its behalf. This includes staff, brand ambassadors and outside marketing agencies. Their posts carry the dispensary’s legal liability.
“I’m posting from a personal account.” Your account may be visibly linked to a licensed business by its name, a location tag or your bio. If so, your posts count as business communication. The test is whether a reasonable reader would see the post as speaking for the business.
If your post fits one of these cases, remove the shop name, location and any product link. If you cannot, do not post it.
8. What a compliant post looks like
Many operators understand the banned categories in theory. Applying them while writing a real post is harder. The examples below are not legal rulings. They show where the line sits under the B.E. 2568 Notification and the B.E. 2569 Ministerial Regulations.
Example A — growing question: “I’m seeing yellowing on the lower leaves in week 4 of the vegetative stage. I’m using coco coir at EC 1.4. Could this be a magnesium deficiency?”
Fully compliant. EC (electrical conductivity) measures how strong the nutrient solution is. The post names no product, no price and no health claim. Solving growing problems is what this forum exists for.
Example B — business announcement: “We’re now open seven days a week at our Lat Phrao branch. Come visit.”
Compliant. Lat Phrao is a district in Bangkok. The location and hours are information. The post does not ask anyone to buy a specific product.
Example C — product mention without price or claim: “We carry several imported genetics that express a high-myrcene profile.”
Borderline. Myrcene is one of the terpenes. The post describes a product feature in a way that suggests it is for sale. Adding a price or a health effect would clearly cross the line.
Example D — direct offer to sell: “10g of our top-shelf Gelato for 3,500 baht, delivery available. Line: @yourdispensary”
A clear breach on three counts. It has a price. It offers delivery, which makes it an online sale. It asks buyers to contact the shop directly.
Example E — a patient sharing experience: “My doctor prescribed cannabis flower for my condition. I’ve used it for two months and it helps me sleep. No side effects so far.”
Personal patient experience is not advertising. It becomes advertising if a business reposts or endorses it in a way that links the experience to its own products.
Ask two questions before you publish any post. Does it make someone more likely to buy a specific cannabis product? Does it tell them where or how to buy it? If both answers are yes, do not post it.
9. Staying current and reporting breaches
Keeping up with changes
Thailand’s cannabis rules have changed in important ways three times since 2022. Second-hand summaries go out of date. This includes older posts on this forum, written in good faith under earlier rules.
The official source is the Thai text in the Royal Gazette (ราชกิจจานุเบกษา), the official journal that publishes Thai laws. Everything else, including this guide, is an interpretation. DTAM publishes administrative guidance in Thai on its official website.
The forum’s law and compliance section tracks important changes and gives the date each one took effect. Treat posts there dated before April 2026 as history, not current guidance.
Moderators update the pinned threads when a change takes effect. Follow those threads: it is the easiest way to stay current without reading the Royal Gazette yourself. Before you act on any older post, check its date against the current Royal Gazette text.
Reporting breaches you see elsewhere
Members sometimes ask about breaches they see on other platforms. Examples include dispensary Instagram posts with price lists, LINE groups that work as order channels, and Google review replies with THC claims.
Private individuals have no legal duty to report these.
DTAM accepts complaints. Check its official website for the current channels, which include:
- through its official portal at dtam.moph.go.th;
- in writing to the Director-General, Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Nonthaburi 11000.
A complaint should include the date you saw the breach, the platform, a description or screenshot, and the business name or location if you know it.
This forum does not help members report competitors. It applies moderation standards that follow the law. Any post that would be a breach if a business made it is removed, whoever posted it.
If you have a question about a specific situation, ask it below this topic.
References
- Protection and Promotion of Thai Traditional Medicine Knowledge Act B.E. 2542 (1999), Sections 4, 46, 52, 54, 70, 71 and 78
- Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis), B.E. 2568 — Royal Gazette, 25 June 2025; in force 26 June 2025
- 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, 26 March 2026; in force 26 April 2026. Extracts above 0.2% THC remain Category 5 narcotics under the Narcotics Code
- 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, 30 April 2026
- Ministerial Regulation on licensing for research, export, sale and processing of controlled herbs, B.E. 2559 (2016) — Royal Gazette vol. 133 part 103 Kor, 9 December 2016, Clause 8(1)(e)
- Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979), Sections 40–42 (food advertising); Notification of the Food and Drug Administration Re: Food Advertising Criteria B.E. 2569 (2026), Royal Gazette 27 July 2026, in force 28 July 2026, which includes rules for food containing cannabis or hemp; Cosmetics Act B.E. 2558 (2015), Sections 41–46 (advertising)
- Drug Act B.E. 2510 (1967), as amended, Sections 88, 88 bis, 89, 90 and 90 bis (drug advertising)
- Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 (1979), Section 22 (false or misleading advertising)
- Electronic Transactions Act B.E. 2544 (2001); for unsolicited electronic messages, Computer Crime Act B.E. 2550 (2007), as amended by Act (No. 2) B.E. 2560 (2017), Section 11
This post is general information, not legal advice. Rules in this area change quickly. For decisions that affect your licence, consult a Thai lawyer.