Getting a medical cannabis prescription in Thailand comes down to one document: the PT33. Since June 2025, it is the piece of paper that separates a legal cannabis purchase from an illegal one, and if you want to buy flower anywhere in the country, you need one. This guide covers what the form is, who is allowed to issue it, what the process actually looks like, and what it means for you as a visitor.
Fair warning before we start: this is written to be useful, not to be legal advice. The rules moved twice in eighteen months and a new bill is working its way through parliament. Everything below reflects the framework as it stands in July 2026, with sources at the bottom.
What a PT33 Actually Is
PT33 is the official prescription form for controlled herbal medicine in Thailand. You will see it written several ways and they all mean the same document: PT33, PT 33, P.T.33, Por Thor 33, and in Thai ปท.33. If a shop, a clinic or a forum post uses one spelling and you have seen another, do not worry, there is only one form.
It is a paper document. A qualified practitioner fills it in after a consultation, records what is being prescribed and in what quantity, and the licensed premises keeps a copy on file. Three properties matter in practice: it is valid for a maximum of 30 days, it is good for a single fill rather than an open-ended supply, and the establishment has to retain its copy for one year. That last detail is the reason the paperwork feels more formal than you might expect. It is a record that has to survive an inspection.
On quantity, the form itself does not carry a figure. What applies is the framework around it: a PT33 covers you for up to 30 grams, which lines up with a recommended dose of roughly one gram a day across the 30 days it stays valid. Treat that as a ceiling rather than a target. In practice a practitioner issues the same standard amount rather than negotiating a number with you, and nobody is expecting you to work through it.
What Changed in June 2025, and Why
Thailand delisted cannabis from its narcotics schedule in June 2022, which is what produced the well-documented boom in dispensaries. That framework was never completed with a full cannabis act, and the gap was eventually closed from the other direction.
On 25 June 2025 the Ministry of Public Health published a notification in the Royal Gazette reclassifying cannabis flower as a controlled herb. It took effect the following day. In plain terms, flower stopped being a general retail product and became something you obtain on prescription. Recreational sale ended at that moment, and the PT33 became the mechanism through which every legal flower transaction now passes.
A second layer arrived on 30 April 2026, when Ministerial Regulation No. 2 came into force and set out what a licensed establishment has to look like. That is the regulation that defines the shop side of the equation: who can hold a licence, what they must have in place, and how sales have to be conducted.
Enforcement has tightened noticeably through 2026, with thousands of shops operating on expired licences targeted for closure. Meanwhile a Cannabis and Hemp Act has been pushed since early July 2026 but has not been voted through. So the framework you are reading about is real and enforced, but it is also explicitly transitional.
Who Can Legally Issue a Medical Cannabis Prescription in Thailand
This is where most guides get it wrong, usually by assuming you need a hospital doctor. You do not. Thai law recognises seven professions as able to prescribe controlled herbal medicine:
- Medical doctors
- Dentists
- Pharmacists
- Practitioners of Thai traditional medicine (แพทย์แผนไทย)
- Practitioners of applied Thai traditional medicine
- Practitioners of Chinese medicine
- Licensed folk healers
In practice, the Thai traditional medicine route is the one most people encounter, because it is the pathway built around herbal medicine to begin with. Western-trained doctors work under a much narrower brief here: their authority to prescribe cannabis is tied to a short list of recognised conditions, essentially epilepsy, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, neuropathic pain and spasticity. A traditional medicine practitioner assesses within a broader herbal framework.
Whichever profession issues it, the prescriber has to be licensed and the establishment has to hold a controlled herb licence from the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, valid for three years. Both halves are required. A licensed practitioner writing prescriptions for an unlicensed shop does not make the sale legal, and a licensed shop cannot sell without a prescription behind it.
Getting a PT33, Step by Step
The process is shorter than the paperwork suggests. Most people are through it in well under an hour.
Find licensed premises. Only four types of establishment can legally hold the controlled herb licence: a clinic, a pharmacy, a traditional herbal medicine shop, or a licensed folk healer’s practice. Most cannabis retailers you see on the street operate as the third of those. A shop that cannot show you a licence is not a shop you want to be holding a receipt from.
Bring identification. You need to be at least 20 years old and you will be asked for a passport or Thai ID. Bring the physical document, not a photo of it.
Have the consultation. A qualified practitioner goes through what you are looking for, your experience level, anything relevant in your history, and what would suit you. It is a genuine assessment rather than a formality, and it is also the part where a good practitioner will steer you away from something too strong.
Receive the form. The PT33 is completed and issued. Keep it. You want it on you for as long as you are carrying product, in the same way you would keep a receipt for anything else you might be asked about.
Complete the purchase in person. The sale happens at the licensed premises, with the prescription on file. This is not a step you can do remotely, which we will come back to.
What It Costs
Consultation pricing is set by each establishment rather than fixed nationally, so treat the figures below as the range you are likely to encounter rather than a tariff.
| Consultation at a retail herbal shop | Commonly a few hundred baht, sometimes waived with a purchase |
| Consultation at a dedicated clinic | Typically higher, roughly 350 to 500 baht and up |
| Renewal after 30 days | A fresh consultation, charged again |
| The prescription form itself | Not a separate charge, it is the consultation you are paying for |
If a shop tells you the prescription is free, what they generally mean is that the consultation is bundled into the visit. That is normal. What is not normal is a shop that skips the consultation altogether and hands you a form, because at that point the document is decorative.
How Long It Lasts, and Renewing It
Thirty days maximum, one fill. There is no auto-renewal and no repeat mechanism: when it expires, you have another consultation and a new form is issued. If you are in Thailand for two weeks, one prescription covers your trip. If you are here for three months, expect to go through the process again.
Keep the paper somewhere sensible. A prescription that has expired, or that you cannot produce, does not help you.
Can Tourists Get a Medical Cannabis Prescription in Thailand?
Yes. This is the single most common question and the answer is more straightforward than the internet suggests. The rules are built around prescriptions and licensed establishments, not around nationality or residency. A visitor goes through the same consultation, with the same form, as a Thai national.
Two caveats worth knowing before you arrive. First, a prescription from your home country does not transfer. Thailand recognises prescriptions issued under its own framework by practitioners licensed in Thailand, so a medical cannabis card from California, Germany or Thailand’s neighbours has no legal standing here. You start fresh. Second, do not treat your PT33 as a travel document. It authorises a purchase within Thailand. Carrying cannabis across an international border is a separate offence in both directions, and a Thai prescription will not change that.
On domestic travel between Thai provinces, be sensible. A valid prescription and the product it covers is a defensible position, but airport security is not the place to test the edges of a new framework. If you are flying on to another island or back to Bangkok, the low-risk choice is to finish what you have or leave it behind.
What a PT33 Does Not Cover
The prescription requirement is aimed squarely at flower and high-THC products. Several things sit outside it, which is why you will see some products on open shelves and others behind a consultation:
- CBD products under the THC threshold are not prescription-controlled in the same way
- Leaves, stems and certain processed parts of the plant fall outside the controlled herb classification
- Edibles and beverages follow food regulations, which are their own separate framework
Equally, the PT33 does not license you to do whatever you like with what you bought. Public consumption remains an offence, and the prescription is not a defence against it. Consume in private.
Where You Can and Cannot Buy
Purchases happen in person, at licensed premises. That is the part of the framework people most often get wrong, because it runs against how the market operated between 2022 and 2025.
Cannabis flower is not permitted to be sold online, shipped, delivered, or dispensed through vending machines. If you are being offered any of those, whatever the packaging or the confidence of the pitch, the transaction is outside the framework described in this guide. Nothing about a prescription changes that, and a prescription obtained alongside such a sale does not repair it.
What this means practically is simple: budget a visit. The trip to the shop is not an inconvenience the industry has failed to solve, it is the regulation.
Risks and Penalties
Buying flower without a prescription is illegal possession, with the exposure that implies. Selling without a licence or without prescriptions on file carries considerably more risk, which is why enforcement in 2026 has concentrated on shops rather than customers.
The practical advice for a visitor is unglamorous and effective. Buy from an establishment that runs a real consultation and issues real paperwork. Keep the form. Do not carry more than your prescription covers. Do not consume in public. Do not take it across a border. Almost every story that ends badly involves ignoring one of those five.
Getting Your PT33 in Koh Samui
If you are on Samui, the process described above is what you will go through, and it is worth choosing somewhere that does the consultation and the products in one stop rather than sending you between two addresses.
At How High we have two locations on the island, in Chaweng and at Fisherman’s Village in Bophut, and no appointment is needed. One detail to plan around: consultations run from 10am to midnight daily, which is a narrower window than the shops themselves keep. Our step-by-step walkthrough of how the PT33 consultation works at How High covers what to expect on the day, and there is a fuller rundown of getting your prescription on the island, with both addresses and the hours to plan around.
For the wider legal picture rather than the prescription mechanics, see our guide to whether weed is legal in Thailand in 2026. And if this is your first trip to the island, the complete Koh Samui weed guide covers the ground around it, while consumption rules for travellers deals with where you can and cannot use what you buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a prescription to buy cannabis flower in Thailand?
Yes. Since 26 June 2025, cannabis flower is a controlled herb and a PT33 prescription issued by a qualified practitioner is required for every legal purchase.
What does PT33 stand for?
It is the Thai designation of the prescription form for controlled herbal medicine, written ปท.33 in Thai and transliterated as PT33, P.T.33 or Por Thor 33. All refer to the same document.
Does a medical doctor have to write it?
No. Seven professions can issue it: doctors, dentists, pharmacists, Thai traditional medicine practitioners, applied Thai traditional medicine practitioners, Chinese medicine practitioners and licensed folk healers. In practice the Thai traditional medicine route is the most common.
How long is a PT33 valid?
Up to 30 days, for a single fill. After that you need a new consultation and a new form.
Can tourists get a PT33?
Yes. The framework is built around prescriptions and licensed premises rather than nationality. Bring your passport and expect a short consultation.
Is my medical cannabis card from home valid in Thailand?
No. Thailand recognises prescriptions issued under its own framework by Thai-licensed practitioners. You will need a PT33 regardless of what you hold elsewhere.
How much cannabis can I buy with one prescription?
Up to 30 grams. That is a maximum rather than an allocation, and it corresponds to a recommended dose of about one gram a day over the 30 days the prescription remains valid.
Can I get cannabis delivered in Thailand?
No. Flower cannot lawfully be sold online, shipped, delivered or sold through vending machines. The purchase has to take place in person at licensed premises.
Do I need a prescription for CBD?
Products below the THC threshold are not controlled in the same way. The prescription requirement targets flower and high-THC products.
What happens if I am caught without one?
Possessing cannabis flower without a valid prescription is illegal possession. Enforcement through 2026 has focused mainly on unlicensed sellers, but the exposure for a buyer is real.
Sources
Ministry of Public Health notification on controlled herbal medicine (cannabis) B.E. 2568, Royal Gazette, 25 June 2025, in force 26 June 2025. Ministerial Regulation No. 2 B.E. 2569, in force 30 April 2026. Legal analysis from Tilleke & Gibbins on Thailand’s cannabis controls and the shift from dispensaries to clinics, and from Herrera & Partners on the 2026 regulatory changes. Policy reporting from Nation Thailand through 2025 and 2026.
This guide is informational and reflects the framework as at July 2026. It is not legal or medical advice, and Thai cannabis regulation is actively changing. Verify anything decision-critical with a qualified professional.
