Why Are the Dispensaries Still Open If It Is Illegal?

Thailand's dispensaries are still open because cannabis was not banned outright - it was moved to a medical-only framework. Shops that renewed their license and added on-site medical supervision can legally sell cannabis to customers with a prescription. Thousands that could not meet the new requirements have closed, which is why the streetscape looks thinner than it did in 2023.

Legal, but on new terms

Recriminalization in June 2025 did not make every dispensary illegal. It changed what a legal dispensary is. To keep operating, a shop must function as a medical outlet: hold a license, employ a certified medical or traditional-medicine practitioner on-site (a requirement tightened in January 2026), verify prescriptions, and source product from certified growers. The shops that remain are the ones that could absorb those costs.

The scale of the closures

The shakeout has been dramatic. Of roughly 18,400 shops operating at the peak, about 7,300 had closed by early 2026 after failing to renew under stricter rules, leaving around 11,100 still operating. Further license expiries in 2026 and 2027 mean more closures are expected. So "still open" and "far fewer" are both true at once.

Why some shops still sell loosely

In practice, enforcement is uneven, and some shops in tourist areas still sell with minimal process. That does not make those sales legal, and it does not remove the buyer's risk. The gap between what a shop does and what the law requires is exactly where visitors get caught out.

The bigger picture

The survival of fewer, more compliant, better-capitalized shops is not random. It is what a market looks like when it consolidates under tighter rules rather than collapsing. Who survives, and why, is one of the more interesting questions for anyone looking at the industry rather than just shopping in it.