How the Cannabis Control Act becomes law: every step from Cabinet to Royal Gazette

On 22 September 2026 the Cabinet approved a draft Cannabis Control Act in principle. Headlines said Thailand had regulated cannabis again. It has not, yet. A Thai bill has several more steps to pass before it binds anyone, and cannabis bills have fallen at those steps before.

Where the bill stands

The Ministry of Public Health's draft went through public hearings from 22 April to 17 July 2026, in three rounds: 22 April to 21 May, 2 June to 1 July and 3 to 17 July. The department passed it to the Minister on 20 July, and the Ministry sent it to the Cabinet on 7 August 2026. The Cabinet approved it in principle on 22 September 2026, and the draft is with the Council of State for review. Estimated

As reported, the draft limits cannabis to medical use, registers cultivation sites by size and sets clearer, tougher penalties. Estimated See what the incoming Act means for business.

The steps still ahead

Council of State review

The Council of State, the government's legal advisory body, is reviewing the draft. The Cabinet resolution sets no timeline, and the Council of State may change the terms. Estimated

The House Coordination Committee

The reviewed draft goes next to the House Coordination Committee, which decides when it is put before the House.

The House of Representatives

The House debates the bill in three readings. The first reading votes on its principles, a committee then examines it clause by clause, and the third reading votes on the whole.

The Senate

The Senate reviews the bill passed by the House. It can approve, amend or reject it, and disagreements go to a joint committee of both houses.

Royal endorsement and the Royal Gazette

The Prime Minister submits the passed bill for royal endorsement. It becomes law when published in the Royal Gazette, and takes effect on the date the Act itself sets, often with transitional provisions for existing licences.

What can stop it

• Dissolution. A bill still in Parliament when the House is dissolved lapses unless the next government revives it. A 2022 cannabis bill lapsed this way on 20 March 2023. Estimated
• Rewriting. The Council of State and the House committee can change the text substantially.
• Competing bills. MPs announced or filed their own cannabis bills on 5 July, 9 July and 29 October 2026. One, the Cannabis and Hemp bill filed on 9 July 2026, treats non medical cannabis as a narcotic under the Narcotics Code and licenses possession as well as sale. Estimated

What the draft reportedly contains

The text had not been published when this was checked. Reports of the Ministry's summary describe these elements. Estimated

• a licence from DTAM, valid for three years, to cultivate, produce, import, export or sell cannabis or extract;
• consumption banned except for treatment, relief or prevention of illness;
• cultivation plots registered as small, medium or large so their locations can be traced;
• penalties for sale to people under 20, or to pregnant or breastfeeding women;
• sale banned in temples, schools, dormitories, parks, zoos and amusement parks;
• advertising of flower, resin, extract and smoking equipment banned;
• roots, stems, leaves and seeds exempt.

What the Minister has said about shops

The Public Health Minister has said, most recently on 22 to 23 September 2026, that once the bill takes effect a licence would trade to its own expiry and then have to convert to a medical facility with a resident doctor to renew. Those are statements, not clauses. The Cabinet approved text was unpublished, and its transitional sections are described only as accommodating existing licences.

What to do while you wait

Run the business on the rules in force. Every licence in force reaches its statutory expiry by 31 December 2028 under section 46 of the Thai Traditional Medicine Wisdom Act B.E. 2542 (1999), whatever happens to the bill. Verified On 22 October 2026 the Prime Minister said licences would be renewed only after inspection, as part of Narcotics Code amendments. See the licence renewal checklist and what the October 2026 penalty pledge means.

Signals to watch at each stage

• Council of State: whether the reviewed text changes the shop conversion plan or the transition for existing licences.
• Committee stage: amendments to the definition of medical use, cultivation registration and penalties.
• Senate: whether it amends the text and sends it to a joint committee.
• Royal Gazette: the in force date and the transitional provisions, which decide what happens to licences issued under the current rules.

Common misunderstandings

• "Cabinet approval means it is law." Approval in principle starts the process. Nothing in the draft binds anyone until it is published in the Royal Gazette and in force.
• "Shops can ignore the current rules while the bill is pending." The current rules apply in full until replaced, and they are what inspectors enforce.
• "The bill will close every shop." As reported, it would change what a shop must be in order to renew. The transitional provisions decide how existing licences move across.

Questions for a seller while the bill is pending

• Which qualifying route does the business rely on, and in whose name is it held?
• When does each licence expire, and has any been suspended?
• How would the price change if the bill passes as drafted, passes amended or stalls?

See buying an existing dispensary. The useful habit is to separate what is reported from what is enacted. Reported provisions shape strategy, and enacted provisions shape compliance.

Section 3 of the report, free to read, sets out the rules in force today. If you want the bill's possible outcomes applied to a business you are looking at, start with a call.

Sources

• Section 3 of the 2026 report, The rules in force (free to read)
• Thai Traditional Medicine Wisdom Act B.E. 2542 (1999), English translation, section 46
• Nation Thailand, Thai cabinet endorses draft cannabis control bill for medical use, 22 September 2026
• The Star, Thailand moves to rein in cannabis industry, reverse decriminalisation policy, 22 September 2026
• Cannabis and Hemp bill, an MP's bill filed in the House of Representatives on 9 July 2026, public consultation 30 September to 14 October 2026
• The Star (Bernama), Thailand to tighten cannabis controls and propose tougher penalties, 22 October 2026

This article is market intelligence, not legal advice. Rules change by notification; check the current text with the licensing authority or Thai counsel before you act.