Cannabis Business
Honest notes from 900+ dispensary visits. Zero sponsored posts.
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It usually starts with a message from a regular. "Hey, did you close? I can't find you on Google." The owner opens Maps, types the shop name, and gets the cafe next door. The pin is gone. The reviews are gone. The photos a hundred customers uploaded are gone.
Here is the short answer. Most dispensaries vanish from Google Maps because their Google Business Profile was suspended for breaking Google's guidelines, very often over something fixable: a business name stuffed with keywords, the wrong categories, no proper storefront signage, or edits that look suspicious. Cannabis shops are not banned from Google Maps, but the category draws scrutiny, so the basics have to be clean. The way back is an appeal with real evidence, and the way to stay visible is to never give Google a reason in the first place.
Thailand banned all commercial cannabis advertising in June 2025. Instagram accounts for cannabis businesses get restricted and disabled regularly. That makes your Google profile one of the few places a tourist can still find you at the exact moment they are looking.
In my experience, most visitors in Bangkok find a dispensary on a map, not on a shopfront. Lose the pin and you can lose a large share of your walk ins, overnight. I cover the bigger search picture in dispensary SEO for Bangkok shops.
Everything below comes from Google's own guidelines for representing your business and related help pages. I am paraphrasing, so read the originals before you change anything.
Cannabis needs a storefront. Google's guidelines say businesses associated with products or services that require a minimum age, like alcohol, cannabis or weapons, are not permitted as service area businesses without a storefront. A delivery only or "we come to you" profile is not allowed, and online sales are banned in Thailand anyway.
Signage matters. Businesses that show an address are expected to have permanent fixed signage with the business name at that location. A shop with a temporary banner, or a name on Google that does not match the sign, invites trouble.
The name must be your real world name. Google says the name should reflect what you use on your storefront, website and stationery. It lists things that should not be in the name field, including marketing taglines, service or product details, location details, hours, phone numbers, fully capitalised words and the name repeated in two languages. Google warns that adding unnecessary information to the name could result in suspension.
Fewest, most accurate categories. Google asks you to use as few categories as possible, chosen to describe what the business is, not what it has. Categories are not keywords.
One profile per location. Duplicate profiles for the same shop are a classic suspension trigger.
Website and phone must be yours. Google wants a phone number and website that represent your actual location, and says not to use phone numbers or URLs that redirect people to other landing pages, including social media pages.
Regulated product content is restricted. The guidelines say Google does not allow content related to regulated products and services in product listings, naming examples such as alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceuticals. In practice, do not try to list cannabis products on your profile. Google's content policy for photos, videos and posts also says business posts must comply with all applicable laws, and in Thailand that includes the cannabis advertising ban.
From what I have seen across 900+ dispensary visits and many owners asking me to look at their profiles, these come up again and again.
Keyword stuffed names. "Happy Leaf Cannabis Dispensary Weed Shop Sukhumvit 11 Open 24 Hours." Every word after "Happy Leaf" breaks the naming rule. It might help for a week. Then the profile is gone.
A name that does not match the sign. Shops that rebrand inside but keep the old sign, or put the company name on Google and the brand on the door, confuse both Google and customers.
Duplicate or reclaimed profiles. A new owner creates a fresh profile instead of claiming the old one. Two profiles for one address is a red flag.
Address problems. A pin dropped in the wrong unit, a shop inside a mall or a market without its own clear signage, or a move that was never updated.
Too many edits at once. Changing name, category, address and phone in a single afternoon looks like a hijacked or fake listing.
Product and promotional content. Posts or photos promoting products for sale, prices or deals. This is risky under Google's rules and under Thai law.
Suspicious reviews. Paying for reviews, offering anything in exchange, or only asking happy customers. Google's maps content policy treats incentivised reviews as rating manipulation and removes them. A sudden flood of five star reviews can draw attention to the whole profile.
Google's help page on fixing suspended or disabled profiles sets out the process. In short:
1. Fix the problem first. Check the profile against every guideline. Remove keywords from the name, trim categories, correct the address and hours. Appealing a profile that still breaks the rules wastes your attempt.
2. Use the appeals tool. Google directs owners to its Business Profile appeals tool, signed in with the account that manages the profile. You select the profile, review the reason Google gives and the linked policy, and submit an appeal. Google emails a decision.
3. Attach real evidence. Google lists examples such as official business registration, a business licence, tax certificates and utility bills, and asks that the name and address match the profile. For a Thai dispensary, your licence documents and a clear photo of the shopfront signage showing the name are the obvious starting points. Google's page says that once you open the evidence form you must submit it within 60 minutes, so prepare everything before you start.
4. Do not create a new profile while you wait. Google says this directly. A second profile for the same business during review makes things worse.
5. If refused, come back with new evidence. Google's page says a denied request can get an additional review if you provide new evidence.
There are also account level restrictions, where the person managing the profile is restricted, not just the listing. Those have to be resolved first, before the profile appeal.
Google does not publish how long a review takes. Plan for days, not hours, and keep your website and other channels working in the meantime.
Name: matches your sign, character for character. Nothing extra.
Categories: the fewest that describe what you are.
Address and pin: exact, with the door visible in a street photo.
Hours: current, including holidays. Google's own guide to local ranking says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up, and hours are part of that.
Website: a site you own, with the same name, address and phone. If you do not have one yet, read does a dispensary need a website.
Photos: real ones of the shopfront, the counter and the team. No product glamour shots, no prices.
Reviews: asked for honestly from every customer through a link or QR code, never rewarded, and answered briefly. I wrote about why tourists distrust perfect scores in are dispensary ratings real.
Licence: current, with the sticker displayed. Careful customers check, through the licence sticker and the ThaiCannaMapped Dispensary Register. A profile that matches a licensed shop on the register is a profile customers trust.
Access: at least two owners or managers on the profile, using accounts the business controls. Losing the only login is its own kind of vanishing.
Google is more stable than Instagram for most dispensaries, but it is still someone else's platform. The resilient setup is three layers: a Google profile that follows the rules, a website you own, and social accounts you treat as a bonus. If Instagram is your current home, read what to do if Instagram disables your account, how to check for a shadowban and why not to build on Instagram alone.
Does Google ban cannabis dispensaries from Maps? Not from what I can find in Google's published guidelines. Cannabis businesses need a storefront, and product content is restricted, but a licensed shop with a real storefront can have a profile.
Can I put "weed" or "cannabis" in my business name on Google? Only if it is genuinely part of the name on your sign. Adding it as a keyword breaks the naming rule.
Can I pay Google to rank higher? No. Google states there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
Should I make a new profile if mine is suspended? No. Appeal the existing one. Google specifically says not to create a new profile while an appeal is under review.
Most dispensaries that vanish from Google Maps did not do anything dramatic. They chased a small ranking boost with a keyword in the name, or let the profile drift out of date. Keep it boring, accurate and matched to your sign, and Google has very little reason to take you off the map.
I share what I see on Bangkok's maps and shopfronts on Instagram, and owners who have been through suspensions compare notes inside Reefers Club, an invite only community of people in the Thai cannabis industry. If you want a second pair of eyes, Grow on Google offers a free check of your listing, and the package covers a website, a strengthened Google profile and three SEO articles. The ongoing side lives in the marketing and content work I do.
Written by someone who has opened Google Maps outside more dispensaries than he can count, and noticed every time a familiar pin went missing.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Google's policies change; always check the current Google Business Profile guidelines before acting. All cannabis marketing in Thailand must comply with Thai law.
