Thailand starts banning sale of cannabis without a prescription

Thailand has started banning the sale of cannabis to those without a prescription, three years after becoming the first country in Asia to decriminalize the plant.

- BY JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

The new order, signed by Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin earlier this week, came into effect Thursday after it was published in the Royal Gazette. It bans shops from selling cannabis to customers without a prescription and reclassifies cannabis buds as a controlled herb.

Sellers that violate the new order could face a maximum one-year jail term and a 20,000-baht ($614) fine.

The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, in charge of enforcing regulations related to cannabis, held an online meeting Friday with officials across the country to prepare them for the change.

Officials said during the meeting that shops that are currently licensed can continue to operate but they must get their products only from pharmaceutical-grade farms that are certified by the department, and must declare sources of their products to authorities every month. Those farms must also acquire a license for selling cannabis. The order says shops can only sell a limited amount of cannabis to those with a prescription, enough for personal use in 30 days.