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Thailand Restricts Cannabis to Medical Use, Reversing Decriminalisation

New Ministry of Public Health regulations in the Royal Gazette enforce prescriptions, on-site doctors, ban recreational sales.

FILE -A worker tends to cannabis plants at a farm in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand, July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
FILE- A staff prepares flower bud of cannabis for a customer at cannabis shop Bangkok, Thailand, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Image
FILE--A customer sits outside a cannabis shop in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand, July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Overview

  • The regulations, published June 25, reclassify cannabis flower as a controlled herb available only for medical use.
  • Purchasers must provide a doctor’s prescription and a medical certificate indicating their condition to buy cannabis.
  • Dispensaries now need a licensed medical professional on-site to obtain or renew a cannabis sales license.
  • Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signaled plans to reclassify cannabis as a narcotic under future drug control laws.
  • The policy reversal follows the Bhumjaithai Party’s exit from the ruling coalition and threatens an industry valued at up to $1.2 billion by 2025.