Selling into Thai dispensaries: what do distributors and brands need to know?

Selling into Thai dispensaries is a licensed trade, and the licence has to be checked on both sides of every delivery. A licensee may sell flower only to another licensee, and since 30 April 2026 the licence itself is open only to applicants with a qualifying route. A distributor that has not checked its own eligibility has not yet started.

This article describes the rules only and recommends no product. Who supplies the sector in practice is in the report.

Who may lawfully supply a dispensary

The Ministry of Public Health Notification on Controlled Herb (Cannabis) B.E. 2568 (2025) has been in force since 26 June 2025. Researching, exporting, selling or processing flower for commerce needs a licence under section 46 of the Thai Traditional Medicine Wisdom Act B.E. 2542 (1999). Verified

The notification creates no separate wholesale licence. A distributor of flower must itself hold a section 46 licence, and a licensee may sell flower only to another section 46 licensee, apart from dispensing against a PT.33 prescription. Verified

Since 30 April 2026 a flower licence, new or renewed, is open only to an applicant that holds one of six qualifying routes: a medical facility licence; a licence to manufacture or sell herbal products; a licence to manufacture or sell drugs; a licence to manufacture Category 5 narcotics limited to cannabis or hemp extract; a folk healer certificate; or a cultivation site used to supply licensees. An applicant with none of these routes cannot obtain or renew a flower licence. Verified

Where the flower must come from

Since 26 June 2025 flower that a licensee sells or exports must come from a compliant source: a farm certified by DTAM to its good cultivation and harvest standard, or, since 1 August 2025, a harvest that carries a laboratory certificate of analysis. A DTAM notification gazetted on 12 September 2025 made the per harvest route formal. Either route lets flower enter licensed sale or export. Verified

Selling without DTAM certification is a 30 day suspension ground under the 22 June 2026 tariff. Estimated See GACP certification in Thailand.

What a dispensary can and cannot do with what you supply

Your buyer's rules shape what it can accept.

• Prescription only. Any sale of flower must be against a prescription on form PT.33 from one of seven groups of practitioners. Verified Nation Thailand reported that a prescription covers no more than 30 days. Estimated
• No advertising. Flower may not be advertised through any channel, and online sale is banned. Verified Online sale is an immediate revocation ground under the tariff. Estimated
• No smoking on site. On premises smoking is allowed only as treatment by a professional. Verified
• Location bans. As reported, the Cabinet draft would ban sales in temples, schools, dormitories, parks, zoos and amusement parks. Estimated

Selling without a licence carries, under section 78 of the Act, up to one year in prison, a fine, or both. Nation Thailand reported the fine as up to THB 20,000. For a brand, the advertising ban matters most.

Brands and extracts

An extract above 0.2 per cent THC by weight is a Category 5 narcotic. Under the Ministerial Regulation on Licensing of Category 5 Narcotics, Cannabis or Hemp Extracts Only, B.E. 2569 (2026), in force since 25 April 2026, it may be produced, imported or exported only under a licence for one of four purposes. Only CBD edibles and edibles at or below 0.2 per cent THC are lawful. Verified

Cosmetics and food sit under their own notifications: the Ministry of Public Health Notification on Use of Cannabis Parts in Cosmetics B.E. 2564 (2021) and Notification of B.E. 2564 on Food Products Containing Parts of Cannabis or Hemp. Verified See cannabis extracts and the 0.2% THC line and importing cannabis into Thailand.

Check the buyer's licence before you deliver

A sale to a dispensary is only as lawful as that dispensary's licence on the day of delivery. Five checks follow from the public record.

• Expiry. Every licence in force reaches its statutory expiry by 31 December 2028. In the nearest wave, 37.5% of licences in force face renewal on 31 December 2026. Verified
• Renewal in progress. A renewal must be filed in the sixty days before expiry. A shop that filed in time may keep trading until the licensor decides, on the reading of the published texts, though that point is not settled. Estimated Ask for proof of filing and be careful with credit terms. See section 49 and trading while a renewal is pending.
• Suspension. The 22 June 2026 tariff sets suspensions of 30 days and 90 days, with revocation on repeat. Estimated A suspended buyer cannot lawfully trade. See suspension vs revocation.
• Revocation. A revoked licensee may not apply for any licence for two years under section 54. Verified
• Renewal rules. The renewal rules have been in force since 30 April 2026. A buyer that cannot meet them may not be trading next year. See what the 30 April 2026 rules changed.

Common misreadings

• "A trading company can hold a distribution licence." There is no separate wholesale licence, and the flower licence needs a qualifying route.
• "Any certified or tested flower is fine." The rule names two routes only: a DTAM certified farm, or a laboratory certificate for each harvest.
• "A buyer that has filed a renewal is safe to supply." Whether a filed shop may keep trading is a reading that is not settled.

If you supply, or plan to supply, dispensaries

1. Confirm your own licence type and qualifying route before you quote a price.
2. Collect from each buyer a copy of its licence, its expiry date and, where relevant, proof of a renewal filing. Refresh it at each renewal wave.
3. Match each batch you sell to a DTAM certified farm or to a laboratory certificate for that harvest.
4. Write supply contracts so you can stop delivery if the buyer is suspended or its licence lapses, and so payment terms do not depend on a buyer that cannot lawfully trade.
5. Review every piece of trade material against the advertising and online sale ban.

Section 3 of the report, free to read, sets out the rules in force with their sources. If you want the licence calendar applied to a buyer 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, sections 46, 49, 54 and 78
• JusLaws, Amendment to cannabis laws, 25 June 2025, 30 June 2025
• Nation Thailand, Cannabis buds remain prescription only, ONCB warns retailers, 12 July 2026
• Nation Thailand, Thai DTAM tightens penalties for cannabis shop rule breaches, 22 June 2026
• Cannabis Law Journal, Thailand tightens cannabis licensing rules through two new ministerial regulations, 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.