Thai cabinet endorses draft cannabis control bill for medical use
Existing cannabis shop licences will expire between 2026 and 2028. Pattana estimated that more than half of shops would need to become medical facilities to renew them.
- The Thai cabinet has approved a draft cannabis control bill which will now be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.
- The bill's primary purpose is to limit cannabis use strictly to medical purposes, requiring a doctor's prescription.
- It introduces stricter regulations, including mandatory registration of cultivation plots and tougher penalties for violations.
- Existing cannabis shops will be required to convert into medical facilities, with a doctor on the premises, in order to renew their licenses under the new law.
Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat announced on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) that the cabinet had approved a draft cannabis control bill, according to a report published on September 23.
The bill will next go to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Under the draft, cultivation plots would have to be registered as small, medium or large so their locations could be traced.
Pattana said this would help control quality and clarify how cannabis could be processed into extracts and how its flowers could be used.
The bill would also set out clearer and tougher penalties than those under the Act currently in force.
Pattana said cannabis use would be limited to medical purposes.
Shops currently selling cannabis still operate under their existing licences, which are valid for three years.
Some licences expire in 2026, followed by others in 2027 and 2028.
When their licences expire, shops that are not medical facilities would have to meet the requirements of the new law if they applied for renewal.
Regarding the future of ordinary cannabis shops linked to medical use after 2027, Pattana estimated that more than half would need to become medical facilities as their existing licences expired, because they would need that status to renew.
On cannabis sales, he said the Ministry of Public Health would send teams to inspect shops now operating, particularly in tourist centres and major cities, to protect the public.
Converting a shop into a medical facility would require a doctor based at the premises, Pattana said.
Prescribing cannabis, as with prescribing medicine, would require a document signed by a doctor.
An existing application available through a link could be used to check the locations of cannabis shops and cultivation sites.
Based on his checks, information on 10,000 locations had been recorded, which he believed represented coverage of more than 95%.
Officials and people needing cannabis for medical use could check whether a shop was properly registered.
If a shop did not appear on the map, they could presume it had not been legally registered, he said.
Shops in tourist areas would also need to be checked for proper registration.
Pattana said officers could go in, identify themselves and ask to make an arrest if a shop was not properly registered.
An order issued in the past three to four months specified which agencies’ officers could carry out this work, he added.
