Thailand tightens medical cannabis rules: Prescription-only flowers
30 grammes are permitted for 30 days, health ministry stipulates
Thailand’s Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM) has announced stricter regulations on cannabis, allowing the sale of cannabis flowers solely for medical use with a valid prescription. The move aims to crack down on recreational misuse while supporting legal medical treatments.
DTAM’s director-general, Somruek Chungsaman, revealed the updated Public Health Ministry notification today, May 23, focusing on three main areas of control.
First, cannabis flower sales will be strictly limited to patients with prescriptions from certified medical professionals, including doctors, dentists, pharmacists, traditional medicine practitioners, and folk healers. The prescription permits up to 30 grammes of cannabis flowers for 30 days—an amount aligned with typical medical dosages, which average around 1 gramme per day.
“This 30-day timeframe will serve as a legal boundary to differentiate medical use from recreational possession,” Somruek explained. The updated rules will specify indications for medical cannabis and set dosage limits per prescription.
Second, the DTAM director-general will have the authority to refuse licence renewals for businesses with past violations, such as selling to minors or failing to keep accurate sales records. Licences, required for retail and export operations, are renewed every three years. Currently, over 17,000 licences have been issued nationwide.
Third, cannabis cultivation and export must now meet Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) standards, modelled after the European Union’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines. Given that cannabis flowers are primarily consumed by inhalation, safety is paramount. Cultivation must include stringent soil and water management to prevent contamination by heavy metals.
Presently, 47 cultivation sites have been certified under these standards, mostly privately run and geared towards export markets. DTAM encourages more growers to apply for GACP certification, which involves submitting flower samples for lab testing. The process typically takes about a month if requirements are met, reported The Nation.
Somruek added, “The revised draft notification on cannabis will be open for public consultation and feedback for 15 days. After that, a committee will review the results, aiming to finalise regulations by the end of June.”
These changes mark a significant step toward safer, more controlled medical cannabis use in Thailand while tackling illegal sales and abuse.
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