It as soon as seemed like a miracle: Thailand was shifting from one of many world’s most restrictive hashish insurance policies to a extra rational, fashionable strategy to the standard plant. First got here the restricted medical legalisation in December 2018, then a broader opening in June 2022, permitting entry for all adults,  albeit beneath particular rules.

However the regulation, riddled with loopholes, was shortly examined by a booming business. Hashish companies sprang up like mushrooms, and with them got here widespread non-compliance. THC limits had been typically ignored, and merchandise branded as ‘medicinal’ had been being offered in neon-lit shops in vacationer districts. With rising experiences of hashish being smuggled in a foreign country and mounting media scrutiny, the newly elected authorities responded.

Well being Minister Somsak Thepsuthin introduced a reversal of the regulation, and that hashish would as soon as once more be labeled as a narcotic. Regardless of fierce opposition from the general public and business advocates, a brand new regulation was revealed within the Royal Gazette on June 25, 2025, formally reclassifying hashish flower as a managed substance. The regulation, efficient instantly,  bans promoting, basic gross sales, and leisure use, plunging the once-booming business into disaster.

What Do the New Guidelines Require of Companies?

The brand new regulation attracts a lot firmer traces than earlier than. Operators wishing to stay within the business should now meet strict situations:

• License holders should report the origin, supposed use, and stock of their hashish merchandise.

• Exporters should register their transactions with the licensing authority.

• Retailers and processors might solely promote hashish to recipients licensed beneath Part 46 of the Act.

• All hashish should come from licensed growers and meet regulated harvesting requirements.

• Smoking hashish on enterprise premises is prohibited — except administered by a licensed medical skilled.

• Gross sales by way of merchandising machines or on-line platforms are banned.

• Industrial promoting of hashish is prohibited throughout all media.

• Gross sales are banned in spiritual websites, residential areas, public parks, zoos, and amusement parks.

What Occurs Subsequent?

Medical hashish stays authorized, however solely beneath strict situations. Solely licensed medical professionals, together with these in conventional Thai medication, Chinese language medication, pharmacy, and dentistry, might prescribe it.

Companies licensed earlier than the brand new regulation should adjust to the up to date guidelines. As Minister Somsak informed CNN: “Hashish shall be permitted just for medicinal use.”

This shift is predicted to threaten the way forward for Thailands 18,000 hashish shops. Violating the principles now carries penalties of as much as one yr in jail or a 20,000 baht (£460) advantageous, although the ministry has proposed growing these penalties.

How Are Operators Responding?

Based on The Guardian, the brand new regulation is threatening the livelihoods of many within the hashish sector. Enterprise proprietor Natthakan Punyathanaworakit mentioned the most recent announcement was the ultimate straw, she had already been struggling and was now compelled to close one in every of her three shops in Bangkok.

Many worry that smaller companies would be the first to go, unable to afford the now-required presence of a medical skilled on web site. Others predict an underground market will shortly re-emerge.

Entrepreneur Chokwan Chopaka argues that the brand new regulation received’t truly enhance security, as current guidelines had been by no means correctly enforced: “If there are not any controls, I merely can’t compete.”

For a lot of compliant operators, the added prices of certification, staffing, and compliance are too nice.

“It’s the small individuals — the household companies the place the spouse trims whereas the husband grows — they’re those who will undergo,” she mentioned.

Impression Already Being Felt

Hashish store house owners on Bangkok’s fashionable vacationer vacation spot,  Khao San Highway, report fewer clients and rising confusion amongst travellers. Oler SilaSilarat, a 28-year-old retailer worker, mentioned: “After legalisation, everybody had the possibility to earn. You possibly can open a store, construct a profession… and now they alter it.”

He worries particularly for small-scale farmers who’ve already invested in cultivation however now can’t afford the certifications wanted to remain in enterprise. “They’ve the expertise, however they will’t compete with massive corporations.”

In the meantime, Minister Somsak insists this shift may nonetheless be a long-term alternative. A 2022 authorities report projected the hashish business might be value $1.2 billion by 2025, although he admitted that dependable market knowledge is missing as a consequence of beforehand unregulated transactions.

Two Visions of the New Thailand

“Revenues might fall at first, however contemplating the social hurt brought on by unregulated use, the change is important,” Somsak mentioned, including that accountable companies will survive.

Others disagree. One enterprise proprietor informed The Guardian that medical certificates are simply bought, which means the brand new guidelines might merely create a brand new income stream for some medical doctors.

Enforcement efforts are already underway. In June, authorities inspected 1,565 hashish companies, discovering:

• 82 suspended licenses

• 5 licenses revoked for critical violations

• 7 prison circumstances for unauthorised gross sales

• 209 companies that did not submit operational experiences

• 44 circumstances of unlawful promoting

• 4 circumstances of public smoking

• 3 on-line gross sales violations

• 1 case of unprescribed gross sales

• Suspicious hashish seized from 13 people

Regardless of protests deliberate by the Hashish Future Community, Minister Somsak mentioned the federal government stays dedicated to strict enforcement. The Division of Conventional and Different Thai Medication is now working with business representatives to align hashish coverage with public well being targets.