In 2022, Thailand became the first country in Asia to remove marijuana from its list of illegal narcotics. Cannabis was decriminalised even earlier for medical use in 2018, before being approved for recreational use in 2022.
Since then, tens of thousands of shops and businesses selling cannabis have sprung up across Thailand, many of them located in the country’s tourism hubs such as Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Pattaya.
At that time, I remember my friend said she was offered cannabis ice cream during her visit but she did not wish to try it. There is also cannabis infused or flavoured coffee and other food items which include cannabis as one of its ingredients. Derivative products like brownies and gummies are offered openly online – although this is technically illegal – and can be delivered to your door within an hour.
There are also weed festivals and one such festival in Bangkok earlier in June boasted an appearance by boxing legend Mike Tyson, whose own brand of boxing glove- and ear-shaped cannabis gummies, has been sold in Thailand since 2024.
However, on 26 June, 2025, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health announced that is has officially classified cannabis flower buds as a “controlled herb”.
This move has already been in the cards since 2024, when the former Prime Minister had stated Thailand will re-list cannabis as a narcotic by the end of the year, in a stunning U-turn just two years after legalising its recreational use.
US$1 billion industry in limbo, 12,000 cannabis retailers in jeopardy
In this move to re-criminalise cannabis, Reuters reported that this will plunge into limbo an industry estimated to be worth over US$1 billion that has boomed since 2022. The Thai Chamber of Commerce previously estimated the industry, which includes medicinal products, could be worth US$1.2 billion by 2025.
Up to 12,000 existing cannabis flower retailers whose operating licences expire later this year, may be forced to shut down.
CNN reported that more than 18,000 licensed cannabis shops across the country will have to adapt or risk closing. Penalties for sellers caught violating the new rules include up to one year in prison or a fine of 20,000 baht (about US$620), though the health ministry is proposing new legislation that would significantly increase this.
Cannabis retail sales now require doctor’s prescription
All cannabis flower shops must now obtain a proper operating license. Smoking cannabis on-site will be prohibited, and sales to the public or patients will only be permitted with a valid prescription from a licensed professional and medical professionals must be on-site.
This makes it mandatory for any retail purchase to require a doctor’s prescription. The measure aims to regulate the use of cannabis for medical purposes and restrict its availability to patients under proper supervision.
Current medical guidelines in modern medicine permit cannabis use for four conditions: epilepsy, nausea and vomiting from cancer treatment, neuropathic pain, and muscle spasticity. Thai Traditional Medicine guidelines cover eight symptom groups, including nausea, vomiting, headaches, appetite loss, and cancer-related pain.
Cannabis shops are also required to keep detailed sales records and face regular inspections by authorities. New rules also put stricter controls on growers and farmers, ban commercial advertising and prohibit cannabis from being sold in vending machines or online.
Industry in shock
The recriminalisation push has left some cannabis industry members shocked because a lot of them invested heavily.
The government previously also did not issue any comprehensive rules to govern the sector and only now it is trying to rein in the free-wheeling marijuana market so the situation can create confusion in the weeks or months to come.
The new rules will come into effect once they are published in the Royal Gazette, which could happen any time soon.
BBC reported that a local MP argues that the proposed new public health ministry regulations will restrict supply and demand, and restore the industry to what it was always intended to be, focused solely on the medical use of marijuana.
There is plenty of opposition to this notion from cannabis enthusiasts who believe the new rules will do nothing to curb smuggling or unlicensed growers. They say the measures will wipe out small-scale businesses who are already struggling because of the glut caused by over-production.
Increase in cannabis trafficking, drop in post arrivals
The same BBC report also mentioned that there has also been pressure from the UK, which has seen a flood of Thai marijuana being smuggled into the country. It is often young travellers who are lured by drug syndicates in Britain into carrying suitcases filled with it on flights from Thailand.
The National Crime Agency in London said that 142 couriers carrying five tons were intercepted in 2023. This number shot up to 800 couriers in 2024 carrying 26 tonnes, and that number has continued to rise this year. So far this year, 173 people accused of smuggling cannabis – nearly all from Thailand – have gone through the court system in the UK and received sentences totalling 230 years.
Cannabis post arrivals from Thailand has also dropped sharply, says UK, after a landmark agreement between the British Border Force and Thai customs introduced stricter screening measures at the source.
The number of packages containing cannabis intercepted at UK borders from Thailand fell by 90% in the first three months of 2025, a dramatic decline that officials credit to intensified international cooperation.
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