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Thailand Restricts Cannabis to Medical Use with Prescription-Only Rules

Citing public health concerns over youth addiction, regulators reclassified marijuana buds as a controlled herb.

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)
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FILE- A staff prepares flower bud of cannabis for a customer at cannabis shop Bangkok, Thailand, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
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 prescription-only ban took effect June 26 after it was published in the Royal Gazette.
  • Violations of the new rules under the 1999 traditional medicine act carry up to a year in jail and a 20,000-baht fine.
  • Dispensaries now must source cannabis from farms certified under Good Agricultural and Collection Practices and limit supplies to a 30-day amount per prescription.
  • The policy shift follows growing backlash over youth addiction and political infighting after the pro-weed Bhumjaithai Party left the governing coalition.
  • Cannabis advocates and industry groups have planned protests at the Health Ministry next month, warning that the restrictions will harm small businesses and drive sales underground.