Thailand moves to require a doctor’s approval for cannabis sales, unsettling a budding industry

Thai cannabis store owners and activists on Thursday hit out at new government plans to tighten the rules on selling the drug by requiring a doctor’s approval, three years after it was decriminalized.

The kingdom was the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize the drug when it removed cannabis from the list of banned narcotics in June 2022.

The intention was to allow sales for medical rather than recreational use, but the move led to hundreds of cannabis “dispensaries” springing up around the country...