The drug-regulating law in Thailand involves the following three acts.
1. Narcotics Act B.E. 2522 (1979)
2. Psychotropic Substances Act B.E. 2559 (2016)
3. Drugs Act B.E. 2510 (1967)
Therapeutic drugs for human use are classified in pursuant to the Thai law into three categories, namely those considered narcotics, those considered psychotropic substances and those in neither of these two categories. This last category is regulated as drugs under the Drugs Act.
Regulation of the importation of drugs for personal use varies, depending on which act the drugs of interest belong to. Each act further specifies drug sub-categories, which are differently regulated.
Narcotics under the Narcotics Act and psychotropic substances under the Psychotropic Substances Act are classified into five and four schedules, respectively.
Schedule 2 narcotics under the Narcotics Act are permitted to be carried with patients into / out of Thailand in the quantity for 90-day use, provided that permission is granted by the Food and Drug Administration. On the contrary, the importation of schedule 1 is forbidden even though they are carried with patients.
Psychotropic substances in schedules 2, 3 and 4 under the Psychotropic Substances Act are permitted to be carried with patients into / out of Thailand in the quantity for 30-day use in the presence of medical certificates.
The importation of schedule 1 substances is forbidden even though they are carried with patients.
Drugs that are not regulated as narcotics or psychotropic substances are legally permitted to be carried with patients into / out of Thailand in the quantity for 30-day use. I recommend that you should have a valid prescription and/or medical document of a physician for any drugs that carrying into Thailand.
For other products;
1. Medical Preparation and Drug Supplements, please contact directly to : Medicines Regulation Division
Email: drug@fda.moph.go.th
Tel: +662 590 7165
2. Medical Device, please contact directly to : Medical Device Control Division
Email: mdcd1988@fda.moph.go.th
Tel: +662 590 7149
3. Herbal Products, please contact directly to : Herbal Products Division
Email: herbaldivision@fda.moph.go.th , econsultcenter@fda.moph.go.th
Tel: +66 2590 7476
4. Food and Food Supplements, please contact directly to : Food Division
Email: food@fda.moph.go.th
Tel: +66 2590 7176 , +66 2590 7257
5. Cosmetic, please contact directly to : Cosmetic Control Group
Email: Cosmetic@fda.moph.go.th
Tel: +66 2590 7273 , +66 2590 7277