Thailand’s Cabinet approved the draft Cannabis Control Act on 22 September 2026, moving the country closer to a comprehensive law governing cannabis cultivation, production, import, export and sale. The Ministry of Public Health says the bill is intended to close regulatory gaps and focus cannabis use on medical, health and research purposes.
The decision is significant, but it is important to be precise: Cabinet approval does not mean the bill is already law. The draft must still pass through Parliament and be published in the Royal Gazette before its new provisions can take effect.
For dispensaries, the immediate priority is to follow the rules already in force while preparing for possible changes. Parliament may amend the draft, and implementation may depend on later regulations. For the wider legal baseline, see our Thailand cannabis laws 2026 guide.
What the draft Cannabis Control Act proposes
According to the Ministry of Public Health’s summary, the Cabinet-approved draft would:
- Require licences for cannabis cultivation, production, import, export and sale.
- Give licences a three-year validity period.
- Restrict cannabis use to medical, health and research purposes.
- Prohibit sales to people under 20, pregnant women and breastfeeding women.
- Restrict sales at designated places such as schools, temples, dormitories, parks, zoos and amusement parks.
- Prohibit advertising and marketing of cannabis flower, cannabis resin and smoking equipment.
- Establish clearer administrative and criminal penalties for unlicensed or prohibited activity.
- Exempt sales of specified non-flower plant parts, including roots, branches, stems, leaves and seeds, from the proposed licensing requirement.
Some proposed restrictions overlap with rules already in force; Cabinet approval does not delay compliance with those existing rules.
What rules apply to dispensaries today?
The existing legal framework remains in effect. Cannabis flower is a controlled herb, and retail sale must operate within Thailand’s medical-use and controlled-herb rules.
The Ministerial Regulation published on 30 April 2026 introduced stricter conditions for new licence applications, pending applications and renewals. DTAM’s published guidance lists licensed healthcare facilities, pharmacies, licensed herbal-product shops and qualified folk-healer premises among the patient-facing establishment types.
Under the current controlled-herb rules and DTAM guidance, dispensaries must also comply with requirements that include:
- Holding a valid controlled-herb sales or processing licence.
- Dispensing cannabis flower only under a valid PT33 prescription issued by an authorized practitioner.
- Limiting each prescription to the medically necessary quantity for no more than 30 days of treatment. The 30 g per month figure in DTAM’s FAQ is guidance, not a fixed amount stated in the controlled-herb notice.
- Obtaining cannabis from permitted and properly documented sources under DTAM’s medical-cannabis cultivation guidance.
- Maintaining purchase, stock, prescription and dispensing records.
- Completing applicable PT27 and PT28 reporting through DTAM’s controlled-herb system.
- Avoiding prohibited advertising, online sales and vending-machine sales.
- Preventing unauthorized consumption or smoking inside the premises.
Existing shops should not assume that an openly operating storefront or an old licence automatically proves current compliance. Licence validity, suspension status and the establishment’s eligibility for renewal should be checked directly against official records.
Will every dispensary have to become a clinic?
Under DTAM’s current published guidance, a clinic is not the only listed route: pharmacies, licensed herbal-product shops and qualified folk-healer premises are also listed under the April 2026 regulation. DTAM’s FAQ says existing shops may operate until their current licences expire, then must apply under the new criteria.
The premises route and the prescription are separate. A licence to sell herbal products does not itself authorise its holder to issue PT33 prescriptions or replace the controlled-herb sales licence. Patient-facing flower sales still require a PT33 issued by an eligible practitioner. A shop using the herbal-product route must therefore have a lawful way for patients to obtain that prescription.
The public health minister has also said that shops with expiring licences would need to become healthcare facilities with an on-site practitioner to continue. DTAM has published estimates of licence expiries in 2026, 2027 and 2028. That statement points to a narrower policy direction than the establishment types listed in DTAM’s current guidance.
For now, operators should distinguish the published application rules from the minister’s stated policy. Before spending on a new facility, staffing or a long lease, ask DTAM or the relevant provincial public health office to confirm in writing which route applies to the specific business. Future legislation or regulations could change the options.
Enforcement is already becoming stricter
Businesses do not need to wait for the new Act to see stronger enforcement.
Recent inspections in Phuket found three licensed shops allegedly breaching their licence conditions. Authorities proposed revoking two licences for allowing smoking inside the premises and submitting false sales reports, while a 90-day suspension was proposed for the third shop.
DTAM has also reported complaint-based inspections in Bangkok, including inspections triggered through the Traffy Fondue reporting channel.
The enforcement pattern is important: authorities are looking beyond whether a licence is displayed. They are examining how a shop actually operates and whether its prescriptions, inventory, sales and regulatory reports agree.
What dispensaries should do now
1. Verify the licence holder and expiry date
Confirm that the company or individual making the sale is the same legal person named on the applicable licence. Check the shop and its licence expiry date in DTAM’s Medical Cannabis GIS, then start the renewal or restructuring process early.
2. Audit PT33 prescriptions
Every prescription should be connected to a genuine medical assessment by an authorized practitioner. It should clearly record the patient, diagnosis or symptoms, prescribed grams per day, treatment duration and total quantity. Check the prescribed quantity against the 30-day treatment limit, rather than treating PT33 as a reusable monthly pass. Our medical cannabis prescription guide explains the patient process.
Avoid pre-signed, blank or bulk-generated prescriptions. A practitioner’s signature alone does not replace an actual assessment.
3. Reconcile PT27, PT28, POS and physical inventory
The quantity received from each supplier, the quantity dispensed to each patient, the reported totals and the remaining physical stock should reconcile.
Corrections should leave an audit trail. Replacing or deleting the original record can create a larger compliance problem than the initial data-entry mistake.
4. Retain supporting documents
Keep prescriptions, patient dispensing records, supplier documents, invoices, batch information and cultivation-standard evidence in a form that can be produced during an inspection.
The PT33 form notice in the Royal Gazette and DTAM guidance state that the dispensing establishment should retain the prescription at the dispensing location for at least one year.
5. Stop in-store smoking
Allowing customers to smoke inside an ordinary dispensary can expose the shop to serious licensing action. A smoking area should not be treated as legal merely because it is separated from the sales counter or fitted with ventilation.
6. Review marketing and online activity
Cannabis-flower advertising and promotional activity are already restricted. Review websites, Google Business profiles, social media, delivery offers, menus and influencer content for prohibited sales or promotional claims.
7. Prepare for a medical-first market
The direction of policy is now clear even if the final legislation is not. Shops that want to remain in the market should build genuine medical assessment, prescription verification, traceability and reporting into their daily workflow.
What this means for cannabis compliance software
For operators, software can help connect medical and retail records that are otherwise checked separately.
A useful system could connect:
- Patient intake and medical assessment.
- Practitioner verification and PT33 issuance.
- Prescription validation at the dispensary.
- Batch-level inventory and supplier documentation.
- Dispensing records and PT28 reporting.
- Purchasing records and PT27 reporting.
- Licence, deadline and suspension alerts.
- An audit history for corrections and approvals.
This is the direction Cannabox MD and PorThorOS are being built around: connecting the medical and retail workflows so that records are captured during the transaction. See how PorThorOS connects prescription, checkout and reporting. Software does not itself determine whether a prescription or sale complies with the law.
The bottom line
Cabinet approval signals tighter oversight, while the existing controlled-herb rules remain the operating standard. Dispensaries should verify their licence status, address high-risk practices and keep medical and inventory records accurate as the bill moves through Parliament.
Cannabox will continue tracking the bill, DTAM guidance and implementation rules as they develop.
This article is a general regulatory update and does not constitute legal advice. Operators should confirm their specific licensing position with DTAM, the relevant provincial public health office or qualified Thai legal counsel.
Official sources and further reading
- Ministry of Public Health: Cabinet approval of the draft Cannabis Control Act
- Royal Gazette: Ministerial Regulation No. 2, B.E. 2569
- Royal Gazette: 2025 controlled-herb notice
- Royal Gazette: PT33 form notice
- DTAM guide to medical-cannabis establishments under the 2026 regulation
- DTAM cannabis guidance and frequently asked questions
- DTAM Medical Cannabis GIS: shop locations, licence status and expiry dates
- DTAM: estimated licence expiries in 2026, 2027 and 2028
- DTAM: current controlled-herb rules
- DTAM: medical-cannabis cultivation and source guidance
- DTAM: controlled-herb reporting system
- DTAM: Bangkok complaint-based inspections
- Thai PBS: Cabinet approval and the minister’s comments on existing shops
- The Phuket News: recent licensing enforcement
