Shops and retail
Cannabis in restaurants and cafés: what Thai food rules allow
Thailand Cannabis Report · Reefers Club Co., Ltd. · Last checked 31 October 2026
In 2022 cannabis noodles, cannabis tea and cannabis pizza appeared on menus across Thailand. Food rules allowed it, within limits. Those limits matter more in 2026, because the flower has since moved firmly into a prescription regime.
What food rules allow
Thai food rules have allowed certain parts of the cannabis and hemp plants in food, with the flower excluded, and use in restaurants and cafés follows the Ministry of Public Health's rules for ready-to-eat food. Estimated Registered packaged foods go through the Thai FDA, and some food categories, such as infant foods and energy drinks, cannot contain cannabis or hemp at all. See edibles, drinks and FDA products.
What customers must be told
From August 2022, sellers of ready-to-eat food containing cannabis have had to display warnings and inform customers that a dish contains cannabis. Verified The rules also restrict cannabis food for people under 20 and for pregnant or breastfeeding women.
What a restaurant cannot do
- Sell or serve the flower. The flower is a controlled herb. Selling it needs a DTAM licence and a PT.33 prescription for every sale.
- Let customers smoke. Cannabis smoke and smell have been a public nuisance since June 2022, and allowing smoking is grounds for revoking a seller's licence. See can a dispensary allow smoking on site.
- Advertise cannabis for commerce if it holds a controlled-herb licence. The guideline announced on 22 June 2026 makes advertising a 30-day suspension. Estimated
The direction of travel
The draft Cannabis Control Act, approved by the Cabinet in principle on 22 September 2026, points towards medical use only. Estimated A restaurant concept built on cannabis as a selling point carries more regulatory risk in 2026 than it did in 2022. Check the current food rules with the Thai FDA or your provincial public health office before you put a cannabis dish on a menu.
Section 3 of the report, free to read, covers the rules for licensed sellers.
Sources
- Section 3 of the 2026 report, The rules in force (free to read)
- Tilleke & Gibbins, Cannabis and Hemp Business Guide Thailand 2025
- Bangkok Post, Eateries using cannabis must inform customers first, 2022
- Thairath, DTAM guideline on administrative orders for cannabis shops, 22 June 2026
This article is market intelligence, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Rules change by notification; check the current text with the relevant authority or Thai counsel before you act.
In short
Can restaurants in Thailand serve cannabis dishes?
Food rules have allowed certain cannabis and hemp plant parts in ready-to-eat food, but not the flower, and sellers must tell customers.
Can a café serve cannabis flower?
No. The flower is a controlled herb that can only be sold by a licensed seller against a PT.33 prescription.
Do restaurants have to warn customers?
Yes. Since August 2022 sellers of ready-to-eat food containing cannabis must display warnings and inform customers.
Who can't eat cannabis dishes?
Restrictions cover people under 20 and pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Can a café let customers smoke?
No. Smoke and smell are a public nuisance, and a licensed seller that allows smoking risks revocation.
Want the numbers behind this?
This article gives you the argument. The figures, where they come from and how sure we are of each one are in the report.