Thailand greenlights bill to rein in its cannabis boom

What the government just did

Thailand's cabinet signed off on a draft law aimed at tightening the rules around the country's fast‑growing cannabis trade. Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat said the bill boosts supervision of growing and processing and raises penalties for violations. Next stop is parliament, where lawmakers will take it up.

What changes for users and shops

Officials say the move underscores the government's turn toward limiting cannabis to medical use after the 2022 decriminalization sparked a surge in dispensaries, especially in Bangkok and tourist hubs. Current rules already require a prescription to buy and confine sales to licensed medical facilities. The draft would add a grower registry that captures plantation size and location, giving authorities a way to trace cannabis across the supply chain.

What happens next and who is affected

Existing dispensary licenses will phase out through 2028. To keep operating, businesses will need to become licensed medical facilities and have qualified practitioners on site. Authorities plan more inspections. According to Pattana, more than 10,000 cannabis shops and grow sites - covering over 95% of current operations - are now recorded in a government tracking system, and any locations missing from that list should be regarded as illegal.

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The bigger backdrop and why it matters

Anutin's Bhumjaithai Party campaigned on cannabis reform ahead of the 2019 election and was instrumental in Thailand becoming Asia's first nation to remove criminal penalties for the plant in 2022. Since then, the party has backed stricter oversight as the market grew rapidly. For anyone with exposure to Thailand's cannabis value chain, watch the parliament timeline, the new traceability rules, and the 2028 license wind‑down. Policy is shifting, and that can reshape revenues, compliance costs, and who stays in the game.

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