Four of six cannabis shops inspected in Phuket Old Town face licence revocation after alleged permit, smoking, advertising and record-keeping breaches.
Officials in Phuket Old Town said four of six cannabis shops inspected on July 24 would have their licences revoked after alleged regulatory breaches, according to a report on the inspection. The joint operation found alleged problems involving permits, smoking on shop premises, advertising, mandatory records and certification, while two other shops were reported to be operating in compliance with the law.
Four of six Old Town shops were found in breach
The inspection took place in Phuket Old Town on Friday, July 24, 2026. It was led by Phuket Vice Governor Pol Lt Col Khetarat Chansilp, with officers from the Phuket Provincial Administration Office, Mueang Phuket District Office and other relevant agencies taking part.
Officials said four of the six shops inspected had breached cannabis regulations and would have their licences revoked. The report did not identify the businesses by name or provide a timetable for when the revocations would take effect.
The inspection produced a split result rather than a finding against every shop visited:
Outcome of six Phuket Old Town shop inspections (shops)
What officials reported
The findings covered several different parts of the licensing and operating framework. The available report describes the alleged breaches as follows:
| Reported finding | Scope reported | Stated consequence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating without required permits | Found among the inspected businesses | Four shops overall to have licences revoked | Phuket Town cannabis shops face licence revocation |
| Allowing cannabis to be smoked on the premises | Shop-level details were not provided | Included among the alleged regulatory breaches | Phuket Town cannabis shops face licence revocation |
| Advertising cannabis products in violation of regulations | Shop-level details were not provided | Included among the alleged regulatory breaches | Phuket Town cannabis shops face licence revocation |
| Failure to maintain records or, in some cases, lacking GACP certification | Found in some cases among the shops inspected | Included among the alleged regulatory breaches | Phuket Town cannabis shops face licence revocation |
| Food products sold without required labels | Two shops | Maximum Food Act fine of B30,000 | Phuket Town cannabis shops face licence revocation |
The inspection scene
The alleged breaches covered several layers of compliance
The reported violations were not limited to a single licensing document. They touched the conditions under which a shop may operate, what happens on its premises, how it presents itself to the public and whether it keeps the records required by officials.
Permits, records and certification
The inspection report identified three administrative or operational concerns:
- Some businesses were alleged to be operating without required permits.
- Some were alleged to have failed to maintain mandatory records.
- In some cases, officials said shops lacked Good Agricultural and Collection Practices, or GACP, certification.
The report does not specify which individual shop was associated with each administrative finding. That distinction matters because the public announcement concerns four shops overall, while the inspection account describes several categories of alleged non-compliance without matching every category to a named business.
Premises, advertising and food labels
Officials also alleged that cannabis was being smoked on shop premises and that advertising breached applicable regulations. Separately, two shops were found to have sold food products without the required labels. The reported maximum penalty for that Food Act offence is B30,000.
Taken together, the findings show why licence enforcement can involve more than whether a business holds a document. The provincial inspection examined permits, premises, advertising, records, certification and additional obligations affecting other goods sold by the shops.
Documents behind the inspection
Thailand's licensed cannabis framework is being enforced through shop conditions
The Phuket case concerns Thailand's licensed cannabis dispensary sector, where businesses operate under conditions set by Thai authorities. It is not a blanket finding that every cannabis shop in Phuket has breached the law. The officials' announcement instead focused on specific conditions allegedly not met by four businesses in one six-shop inspection.
Supporting reporting on Thailand's tightened controls says commercial cannabis-flower sales require licences, public sales are restricted to customers with valid medical prescriptions, and vending-machine, electronic-channel and on-premises smoking sales are prohibited. Those reported controls help explain why permits and smoking inside premises appeared among the Phuket findings in coverage of Thailand's tightened cannabis-shop controls.
The regulatory framework is also evolving. Separate reporting describes a proposed Cannabis and Hemp Act that would require cannabis shops to operate as medical facilities with a doctor supervising dispensing, while authorities continue targeting unlicensed outlets and false permits. That proposal should not be treated as a final rule, but it indicates the direction of the policy debate around shop oversight in Thailand.
Phuket Province signals continued inspections in tourist areas
Vice Governor Khetarat said Phuket Province would continue inspecting cannabis businesses, particularly in major tourist areas, to check that operators comply with legal requirements. The stated aims were to improve public safety, maintain order, strengthen confidence among residents and visitors, support the government's campaign to regulate cannabis businesses and protect tourists.
Phuket Province would continue inspecting cannabis businesses, particularly in major tourist areas.
Vice Governor Pol Lt Col Khetarat Chansilp, as reported by The Phuket News
The operation therefore has a local enforcement message beyond the four shops facing licence revocation. Phuket authorities are signalling that compliance checks will continue in the areas most closely associated with visitor activity, rather than treating the Old Town inspection as an isolated event.
The reported sequence is short but clear:
The Old Town case sits within a broader Phuket enforcement backdrop
A separate Thai government report described a much wider licensing enforcement picture in Phuket, stating that inspections found 533 cannabis businesses had not renewed their licences and that 12 shops had been ordered to suspend operations. Those figures come from a broader government update and should not be treated as a breakdown of the six shops inspected in Phuket Old Town.
The distinction is important. The Old Town report gives a specific inspection result: four alleged breaches among six shops, with two reported as compliant. The broader government figures describe the province-wide licensing situation in a separate enforcement context. The available facts do not say whether the four Old Town shops are included in the larger totals.
The separate government figures provide context for the province's decision to keep inspecting businesses:
The provincial approach combines targeted inspections in tourist districts with wider action against businesses that officials say are operating without valid licensing or outside licensing conditions. The government figures were reported in an official update on Phuket cannabis enforcement.
Why the distinction matters
For residents and international visitors, the practical point is that a cannabis shop's presence in a tourist area does not by itself establish that the business is operating lawfully. The status of each licensed dispensary depends on the permits and conditions applied by Thai authorities, and Phuket officials have said further inspections are planned.
What is confirmed, and what remains open
The inspection report confirms the number of shops visited, the number officials said had breached regulations, the main categories of alleged breaches and the decision announced for the four businesses. It also records that two shops were found to be operating in compliance with the law.
Phuket Old Town cannabis inspection: key questions
How many cannabis shops were inspected?
Officials inspected six cannabis shops in Phuket Old Town on Friday, July 24, 2026.
How many shops face licence revocation?
Officials said four of the six inspected shops had breached cannabis regulations and would have their licences revoked.
What alleged breaches were reported?
The reported issues included missing required permits, smoking on shop premises, advertising cannabis products in violation of regulations, missing mandatory records and, in some cases, a lack of GACP certification.
Were any food-related offences reported?
Yes. Officials said two shops had allegedly sold food products without the required labels. The reported maximum fine under the Food Act is B30,000.
Have all Phuket cannabis shops been found non-compliant?
No such conclusion was reported from this inspection. Two of the six shops inspected were reported to be operating in compliance, while Phuket Province said inspections would continue.
When will the four licence revocations take effect?
The supplied report says the four shops would have their licences revoked but does not provide an effective date or further procedural details.
The Phuket Old Town inspection is a focused enforcement action against four licensed cannabis shops, not a blanket ruling on every business in the province. Its significance lies in the range of conditions officials examined and in the province's stated intention to continue checking dispensaries as Thailand's cannabis rules and enforcement policy develop.