Thailand’s Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine is inspecting licensed cannabis shops nationwide and has signalled suspensions for those breaching licence conditions.[1][2]

Deputy government spokesperson Ploythalay Laksameesaengchan said 12,279 cannabis shops held licences at the time, down from the 18,433 the Public Health Ministry counted as operating in 2025.[3][4] Bangkok has the most with 1,726 shops, followed by Phuket with 1,046, Chon Buri with 900, Surat Thani with 717 and Chiang Mai with 482.[1]

Operators caught selling cannabis without a prescription, advertising, offering promotions, allowing smoking on the premises, selling online or failing to file required reports face licence suspensions of 30 or 90 days.[1][5] A shop suspended and caught committing the same offence a second time can have its licence revoked.[3][4] Sixty-six appeals against suspension or revocation orders were filed in 2026: 31 from Bangkok, 15 from Phuket, seven from Si Sa Ket, six from Surat Thani, two from Chon Buri and five from other provinces.[1][5]

Ploythalay said the subcommittee on appeals would review the facts and law before passing cases to the committee protecting Thai traditional medicine wisdom, and the government does not support recreational cannabis.[1] The Bangkok Insight, publishing on 6 November, reported the same shop count and spelled out the 30- to 90-day closure figures as an immediate suspension for violating shops.[6] The deputy director-general of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Dr Thewan Thaneeirat, announced the shop count and inspection drive at a 3 November press briefing.[7] Thailand has kept cannabis legal but moved to a medical-first framework after decriminalising it in 2022, which officials describe as continuing the crackdown on recreational use.[3]

Thai Post and Thai Rath date the spokesperson’s remarks to 6 November 2026.[4]