Thailand Ends Recreational Cannabis Era: Prescription-Only Rule Takes Hold Amid Political Ouster

In 2022, Thailand made history by becoming the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis. For a moment, it felt like the start of something big—a green awakening that turned Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya into cannabis hotspots brimming with neon-lit dispensaries, psychedelic menus, and the unmistakable scent of revolution.

Farmers dreamed of crop diversification. Entrepreneurs opened thousands of shops. Tourists wandered in off the street and out with jars of pungent local flower. The government promised regulation. The world watched.

And then, it all started to unravel.

From Cannabis Trailblazer to Cautionary Tale

On June 24, 2025, Thai Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signed a ministerial order banning all recreational cannabis sales and requiring a doctor’s prescription for any legal use. While the official reclassification of cannabis as a narcotic is still in progress, the immediate impact is clear: the brief Thai cannabis boom is over.

The order, confirmed by the Bangkok Post, restricts dispensaries to medical-use customers only, with each individual limited to a 30-day supply. Violations can result in up to one year in prison or a 20,000-baht fine (about $600) per AP News.

Just two years after decriminalization, Thailand’s cannabis industry is facing what many are calling an orchestrated collapse.

New Restrictions: What’s Changed?

The ministerial decree introduces a strict new framework that drastically limits cannabis access, sales, and promotion:

• No Smoking in Shops: Cannabis consumption inside dispensaries is banned unless overseen by a licensed medical professional. This includes not just doctors but certified practitioners of Thai, Chinese, or dental medicine, provided it’s part of a treatment plan.

• Sales Restrictions: Cannabis can no longer be sold online, via social media, or through vending machines, channels that had become wildly popular in the country’s tech-savvy consumer landscape.

• Patient Supply Caps: Each buyer may only purchase up to a 30-day supply, further limiting recreational stockpiling and resale.

• Licensing & Traceability: Every individual or business handling cannabis (growing, selling, researching, processing, or exporting) must now register and document source, quantity, and use. All cannabis flower must be sourced from GACP-certified farms.

Why Now?

The government has cited several concerns:

• Surge in Tourist Use: The health minister pointed to unregulated tourism-centered cannabis sales, especially in hotspots like Khao San Road, as a threat to public order and a gateway to illicit smuggling.

• Youth Cannabis Use: Spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub expressed concern about rising youth consumption. Officials say the number of regular cannabis users has doubled, from 350,000 in 2019 to more than 700,000 in 2024.

• Regulatory Vacuum: Although decriminalization passed in 2022, clear rules on THC limits, labeling, cultivation tracking, and retail control were never fully implemented, leaving a wide legal gray zone.

Now, the government says it’s returning cannabis policy to its original intent: medical use only.

Political Fallout: Cannabis as Collateral

Behind the policy shift lies a broader political drama.

In mid-June, the Bhumjaithai Party, which led the charge to legalize cannabis in 2022, abruptly withdrew from the ruling coalition, reportedly over the handling of a tense border dispute with Cambodia. Days later, a leaked phone call between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen intensified the scandal, revealing diplomatic friction and internal dissent.

On July 1, Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended PM Paetongtarn pending an ethics probe, appointing interim leaders in quick succession: first Deputy PM Suriya Jungrungreangkit, then Deputy PM Phumtham Wechayachai on July 3.

Amid the power shuffle, cannabis policy has become a casualty of larger political maneuvering.

Activist Chokwan “Kitty” Chopaka, one of the country’s most vocal cannabis advocates, called the industry a “hostage of politics” in recent interviews. Protests are now planned outside the Public Health Ministry, including a major demonstration scheduled for July 7.

A Billion-Dollar Industry in Freefall

With between 11,000 and 18,000 dispensaries operating at the height of the boom, the economic impact of these changes is massive.

At Green House Thailand, a Bangkok shop that catered to both locals and tourists, staff report massive drops in foot traffic and sales. “This was my main source of income,” one employee told Reuters. “Many shops are probably just as shocked because a lot of them invested heavily.”

What was once seen as a path to medical innovation, rural development, and wellness tourism now faces an uncertain future.

Tourists Caught in the Middle

Tourism operators say many visitors remain unaware of the sudden regulatory changes. But governments are taking note: Australia, for instance, updated its travel advisory to highlight terrorism concerns near Phuket Airport, ongoing political protests, and the rapidly shifting drug laws.

Final Puff

In less than three years, Thailand went from Asia’s first cannabis trailblazer to a cautionary tale of regulatory chaos and political interference. For farmers, entrepreneurs, and patients, the retreat feels like betrayal. For tourists, confusion reigns. And for the global cannabis community, Thailand’s experience is a reminder that legalization isn’t a finish line; it’s a battlefield.

The smell of weed may still linger in the streets of Bangkok, but the dream of a progressive, thriving Thai cannabis model is rapidly going up in smoke.

Article via El Planteo.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The post Thailand Ends Recreational Cannabis Era: Prescription-Only Rule Takes Hold Amid Political Ouster first appeared on High Times.