Last verified: 22 October 2026.
Can tourists legally use cannabis in Thailand with a prescription? Only with a prescription issued in Thailand, for a genuine medical reason. Your medical card or doctor's note from home doesn't count. The prescription is capped at a 30-day supply, it's meant for treatment rather than a night out, and it ends at the border: you can't take the cannabis home [1][5].
If you were hoping "prescription" was a polite word for "receipt", read on. Thailand has spent the past year making sure it isn't.
The short answer
- Thai-issued only. Tourists may not use, buy, carry or transport cannabis flower without a valid prescription issued in Thailand by a licensed professional [1].
- Medical purposes only, limited to what's medically necessary and to no more than 30 days' supply [1][2].
- Up to 30 g of flower a month under the law, according to Thailand's medical cannabis authority [3].
- Carry the paperwork: your medical certificate, or a copy of the PT33 (ภ.ท.33) prescription form [3].
- It doesn't travel. A Thai prescription doesn't let you export cannabis [5].
Why your card from home doesn't work
Thailand's rules are built around its own system of licensed practitioners and licensed sellers. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says the prescription must be "issued in Thailand by a licensed medical professional". It doesn't mention any recognition of foreign cards, letters or apps [1].
So a California card, a Canadian authorisation or a German prescription is, legally speaking, an interesting souvenir. It won't make having cannabis lawful in Bangkok.
What a real Thai prescription looks like
Since June 2025, cannabis flower has been a "controlled herb". Medical access requires an authorised prescription, limited to a 30-day supply, from a licensed professional treating you as an individual patient [2].
Thailand's Division of Medical Cannabis describes the prescription as the PT33 form (ภ.ท.33). A practitioner issues it, and it controls the amount and dose for your condition [3]. Day to day, the agency says:
- the monthly ceiling for a patient is 30 g of flower;
- keep your medical certificate or a PT33 copy with you, plus only the prescribed amount, so the treatment purpose is obvious;
- smoking is allowed in a licensed health facility that has a designated room, or in private, as long as it doesn't cause a nuisance to anyone else [3].
Public smoking is a separate offence. The Public Health Act punishes it with as much as a month in jail, a fine of as much as 2,000 baht, or both [3].
Who is licensed to dispense
A 2026 Ministerial Regulation narrowed who can get a new sales licence. Thailand's medical cannabis authority lists health facilities, modern pharmacies, herbal-product shops and folk-healer practices, among others [3][4]. Each licensed seller must have at least one trained staff member on site whenever it's open [3].
Older licensed shops can keep trading until their licences expire, and new licences must follow the 2026 rules. The authority expects the remaining standalone cannabis shops to be gone by 2029 [3].
We don't name or rank sellers, and we won't. If you have a genuine medical need, start with a licensed health facility, and ask to see its licence.
Who can't be served
Licensed sellers must not sell to anyone under 20, or to pregnant or breastfeeding women, and smoking on the premises isn't allowed. A health facility may provide a separate room for smoking as part of medical treatment [3].
"Instant prescription" counters: a reality check
You may still see shopfronts promising a prescription in minutes. According to the TAT, a shop selling cannabis to smoke, particularly to people who just walk in, "may be operating outside the law". It also says tourists shouldn't assume that products on public display are legal [1].
The PRD adds that online sales, vending machines and all advertising are banned [2]. So a seller messaging you on an app isn't offering a prescription. They're offering a problem.
A piece of paper that skipped the medical part may not protect you. Shops that break the rules face suspension or loss of their licence [3].
The border is where the prescription ends
This is the part people get wrong most often. A prescription covers possession for treatment inside Thailand. The UK government says it is illegal to take cannabis out of the country without export permission [5].
Since 17 June 2026, Thai Customs has fined people 30,000 baht per kilogram, on top of confiscation [6]. Whatever you're prescribed stays in Thailand.
CBD isn't a shortcut either
Thai-made CBD products with no more than 0.2% THC sit inside the Thai FDA system. Extracts above 0.2% THC are a Category 5 narcotic, and under the 2026 regulation medical cannabis extracts need a medical certificate [3]. Don't treat an unlabelled oil as a legal workaround.
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Sources
- Thailand.go.th / TAT, "Cannabis Now Strictly Regulated in Thailand – Important Notice for Tourists". 27 Jun 2025. thailand.go.th
- Government Public Relations Department (PRD), "Thailand NOW Restricts Cannabis to Medical Use Only". 30 Jun 2025. thailand.prd.go.th
- Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM), Division of Medical Cannabis, FAQ (Thai). Accessed 22 Oct 2026. med-cannabis.dtam.moph.go.th
- Ministry of Public Health PR News, DTAM explains the new Ministerial Regulation, "for medical use only" (Thai). 16 May 2026. pr.moph.go.th
- UK FCDO, Thailand travel advice: "Safety and security". Accessed 22 Oct 2026. gov.uk
- Thai Customs Department, press release No. 37/2569 (Thai). 18 Jun 2026. customs.go.th
- Bangkok Post, "Cabinet approves 'medical use only' cannabis bill". 22 Sep 2026. bangkokpost.com