Cannabis dispensaries must transition into medical clinics if they are to continue to run legally, says the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine.

The department’s chief, Dr Somlerk Jeungsmarn, said it is working on a draft of the new ministerial regulation to regulate the use of the plant for medical purposes, as the government moves to tighten cannabis rules.

This would include having a medical professional stationed at the shop who has a licence to sell cannabis, he said.

The dispensaries must then be registered as a hospital or clinic under the Hospital Act.

The ministerial regulation would include how to issue drug prescriptions, which will be required to access cannabis medical products.

The department has issued 18,000 licences to cannabis shops nationwide but only a few operate as a hospital or a clinic.

Among them, 12,000 will have their licences renewed this November, and they must comply with the new ministerial regulation by that date, he said.

“If they want to sell cannabis, they will have to switch to being a hospital or clinic under our new regulation; otherwise, they won’t be able to sell it.

“We hope that the new regulation will be implemented within the next three months, before the period of licence renewals in November,” he said.

Observers see this as bringing an end to cannabis dispensaries that issue the plant for recreational purposes.

The department has a plan to control cannabis medical product prices.

The department has trained over 9,000 doctors who would be authorised to issue prescriptions.