Thai DTAM tightens penalties for cannabis shop rule breaches
Operators face suspensions of up to 90 days and possible licence revocation for repeat breaches, false reports or sales to vulnerable groups.
- Thailand's Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM) has issued tougher guidelines for cannabis businesses, including license suspensions of 30 to 90 days and revocation for repeat offenses.
- Lesser infractions, such as improper record-keeping, failure to display a license, or commercial advertising, can result in a 30-day suspension.
- More serious violations, like selling cannabis without a prescription from a qualified practitioner or failing to report export details, can lead to a 90-day license suspension.
- Licenses will be revoked for severe breaches, including selling to protected groups (minors, students, pregnant women), allowing on-site smoking, or selling online or in prohibited places like temples and parks.
Thailand’s Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM) said on June 22, 2026, it had issued tougher enforcement guidelines for cannabis businesses that breach the Public Health Ministry’s 2025 rules on cannabis as a controlled herb, with licence suspensions of 30 to 90 days and possible revocation for repeat offences.
Dr Thewan Thanirat, deputy director-general of the DTAM, said the guidelines apply to licence holders involved in research, exports, sales or commercial processing of controlled herbs.
He said they were drawn up so enforcement officers and operators across the sector would follow the same standards.
Under the guidelines, a 30-day suspension can be imposed if an operator fails to keep required business reports at the premises, keeps incomplete reports or fails to submit them to the registrar.
The same penalty also applies to sales or exports of controlled herbs that do not meet good cultivation and harvesting standards, known as GACP, or an equivalent or higher standard.
Businesses can also face a 30-day suspension if they fail to display their licence clearly at the premises, cannot show an electronic licence to inspectors, or advertise controlled herbs for commercial purposes.
A 90-day suspension can be imposed if an operator fails to report export details to the authorities or sells cannabis without a prescription from a qualified practitioner.
Dr Thewan said licences will be revoked if operators file false reports; sell to people under 20, pupils, students, pregnant women or breastfeeding women without a prescription; allow cannabis smoking on the premises; sell controlled herbs or processed products through vending machines; sell via online or electronic channels; or sell in prohibited places, namely temples, dormitories and public parks.
The department said suspension periods will be combined when more than one breach is found, but the total will not exceed 90 days.
Operators that repeat the same offence after a previous suspension will face a tougher penalty, with immediate licence revocation considered for a second breach of the same condition.
Dr Peeracha Kukasemkit, director of the Division of Medical Cannabis, said the guidelines would help officials and cannabis businesses work under a single approach during inspections in central and provincial areas.
He said the work was intended to improve understanding between state agencies and the private sector, support the proper use of cannabis for medical purposes, protect young people and vulnerable groups, and promote safe and sustainable medical cannabis.
