Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health will require the country’s remaining cannabis shops to convert into regulated medical establishments. The plan, announced in early April 2026, turns roughly 11,000 licensed outlets into clinics, pharmacies, or traditional-medicine pharmacies — each with an on-site licensed practitioner. Shops that do not convert lose their licences as those licences expire, over a three-year transition window.
This is not a ban. It is a reclassification of who may sell cannabis, how, and to whom. Below is what the mandate says, the numbers behind it, and what it means for shop owners and patients.
The short version
Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat confirmed that shops renewing their licences must upgrade into medical facilities. DTAM (Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine) Director-General Dr Phongsathorn Phokphoemdee set a three-year transition window tied to each shop’s licence-expiry cycle. There is no single national deadline — your deadline is the day your current licence runs out.
Under the new model, cannabis may only be dispensed by a licensed practitioner on the premises, sold only to patients holding a PT 33 prescription, and sourced only from GACP-certified farms. Recreational sales and advertising are prohibited.
For the full legal framework, see our Thailand cannabis laws overview and the dispensary-to-clinic conversion guide.
The numbers behind the mandate
The shakeout is already well underway. Of the 8,636 licences that expired in 2025, only 1,339 — about 15.5% — were renewed. By February 2026, 7,297 of the original 18,433 shops had closed, leaving roughly 11,136 still operating.
Officials expect only about 15% of the original ~18,000 shops — around 3,000 outlets — to complete the conversion into medical establishments.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Shops at peak | ~18,000 (18,433 recorded) |
| Licences expired in 2025 | 8,636 |
| Renewed in 2025 | 1,339 (~15.5%) |
| Shops closed by Feb 2026 | 7,297 |
| Shops still operating (Feb 2026) | ~11,136 |
| Expected survivors after conversion | ~3,000 (~15%) |
What “convert to a medical establishment” means
Under the mandate, a licensed cannabis outlet must become one of three regulated establishment types, each with an on-site licensed practitioner:
- A clinic
- A pharmacy
- A traditional-medicine pharmacy
The conversion requirements
Every converted outlet must meet the same core conditions:
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| On-site practitioner | A licensed practitioner able to dispense cannabis must be present |
| Prescription-only sales | Sales only to patients holding a PT 33 prescription |
| Supply limit | Maximum 30 days’ supply per prescription |
| Sourcing | Flower must come from GACP-certified farms |
| No advertising | Advertising of cannabis is prohibited |
| No recreational sales | Recreational sales are prohibited |
The clinic staffing and facility standards took force in January 2026, formalised under Ministerial Regulation No. 2 B.E. 2569, published in the Royal Gazette on 30 April 2026. Cannabis flower itself has required a PT 33 prescription since 26 June 2025, when it was reclassified as a controlled herb. For details on that requirement, see our clinic operating requirements and medical cannabis overview.
Who can be the on-site prescriber
The on-site prescriber must be one of seven licensed human practitioner types, each holding DTAM cannabis certification:
- Medical doctors
- Thai traditional-medicine practitioners
- Applied Thai traditional-medicine practitioners
- Traditional Chinese-medicine practitioners
- Pharmacists
- Dentists
- Licensed folk healers
Veterinarians are not on this list — they may authorise cannabis for animals only, under separate rules — and nurses are not qualifying prescribers.
How the transition is being monitored
Authorities are mapping licensed outlets across the country and issuing identification stickers that display each shop’s licence status and expiry date. That gives inspectors, and the public, a quick way to see which outlets are compliant and when each licence lapses.
To support the shift, DTAM has launched training programmes and e-learning courses to help operators and their staff meet the new standards and complete the required certification.
What it means for shop owners
Your licence-expiry date is your deadline. When it arrives, renewal is only possible if you have converted into a qualifying medical establishment and registered accordingly — there is no extension for shops that stay in the old storefront model.
Budget for the change. Registering as a medical facility, employing a certified practitioner, and bringing the premises up to standard all cost money. Shops that ran lean will need meaningful new investment.
Line up your practitioner early. Every converted outlet needs a qualifying on-site prescriber, and there are only so many certified practitioners to go around. Recruiting or partnering now is far easier than doing it in the weeks before your licence lapses.
Use the three-year window, but do not wait it out. The transition period is aligned with licence cycles, not a grace period you can ignore. Outlets that convert early stand to absorb patients from those that close. Start with our dispensary-to-clinic conversion guide and the cannabis licence requirements.
What it means for patients
Access continues, but the point of sale is changing. Cannabis flower has required a PT 33 prescription since June 2025, and that does not change. What changes is where you fill it: increasingly at clinics and pharmacies with a practitioner on site, rather than at storefront shops.
Each prescription is capped at a 30-day supply, and the product must come from a GACP-certified source. As shops without a practitioner close, patients in some areas may need to travel further to reach a compliant outlet — though officials say the clinic and pharmacy network is intended to keep supply available.
For the current rules on prescriptions and eligibility, see our medical cannabis overview and the roundup in our 2026 Thailand cannabis law update.
The bigger picture
Thailand’s cannabis market is being reshaped from a retail sector into a controlled medical one. From a peak near 18,000 shops, officials expect roughly 3,000 to remain once the conversions are complete. The operators who survive will be running healthcare establishments, not storefronts, and the compliance costs are real.
The framework rests on ministerial regulations and the controlled-herb reclassification rather than a single standalone cannabis statute. We will update this article as the transition progresses and as the long-debated Cannabis and Hemp Act develops.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Cannabis rules in Thailand are changing quickly. Verify current requirements with DTAM or a qualified professional before making business or medical decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
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