News Forum - Possessing 5 methamphetamine pills might soon be considered drug dealing in Thailand

[Thaiger]

Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha suggests making changes to the law so that anyone possessing five or more methamphetamine pills should be considered a ‘drug dealer’ and therefore serve a much longer prison sentence. The comments come after PM Prayut declared a war on drugs in response to the mass killings at a daycare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province in northeast Thailand on Thursday. No drugs were detected in the killer’s system, but he did have a history of methamphetamine abuse. The former police sergeant was sacked from the force over his drug use and was facing trial […]

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[riclag]

Dont know much about this dreaded ya ba but 1 year in jail for each pill would  be a conservative penalty , me thinks.

[Cabra]

3 hours ago, riclag said:

Dont know much about this dreaded ya ba but 1 year in jail for each pill would  be a conservative penalty , me thinks.

And it will make zero difference as the supply is never interrupted. Yaba at 5 to 10 baht a tablet and their  worried about someone with 5 tabs

 

[Fanta]

As if Thailand needs more scope for abuse of the law and resultant corruption by the RTP. Until a few years ago possession of more than 0.375 grams of ice automatically classified a user as a drug dealer. The police had to provide no evidence in court to support the charge of selling (2.5 years jail). The law was changed to “assumed to be a drug dealer” meaning lawyers can now challenge the charge in court. In so many ways Prayut and his military cronies are dragging this country backwards with a corrupt police force helping him do it. 

[Skip]

6 hours ago, Cabra said:

And it will make zero difference as the supply is never interrupted. Yaba at 5 to 10 baht a tablet and their  worried about someone with 5 tabs

It's not about the cost of the pills... it's about the cost to society

[Vigo]

55 minutes ago, Skip said:

It's not about the cost of the pills... it's about the cost to society

Yes, but locking up idiots who have a few pills is not the answer. That strategy  has never worked. Take down the supply chain and there will be success, starting with the head of the snake.

[Manu]

53 minutes ago, Vigo said:

Yes, but locking up idiots who have a few pills is not the answer. That strategy  has never worked. Take down the supply chain and there will be success, starting with the head of the snake.

That's right but then it is just so logical. However that strategy does not work either (more like the case of "a needle in a haystack"), plenty of heads of the snake got taken down around the world the past 40 years, some were at some point amongst the richest people in the World, only to be replaced by others on the spot. And now in 2022, there has never been as many cheap drugs than ever around the globe, and certainly in this part of the world, the infamous Golden Triangle (https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_chemicals-meth-out-asias-booming-golden-triangle-drug-trade/6206451.html). And knowing the high level of courruption in Thailand (never mind Myanmar, or even Laos), what chance Thailand has got.

After the recent sad event, Prayut is just making a few empty political statements, to please the most conservative groups of Thais (voters). The elections coming soon, it is not really about succeeding, it is about giving the impression of doing so. Nothing better than a little bit of repression and tough laws to please the most conservative voters, even if this regime knows it cannot be done, that is if they even wanted to have it done.

[Cabra]

3 hours ago, Skip said:

It's not about the cost of the pills... it's about the cost to society

We can not incarcerate our way out of social problems. It has never been successful. But yet here we are again, applying the same failed strategy to the same problem and expecting different results. It's the definition of insanity. 

[dhobo]

Education and treatment are the right way to deal with dangerous drugs. Or I suppose they could do what the DEA did years ago. Flood the market with imitations that are just caffeine. This at least dilutes and discourages the users.

[RJBT]

Portugal has made all drugs  not a criminal offence

Has much less problems with drug use

 I was a cop but now advocate to make drugs legal . You take away the financial initiative  and get rid of the head of the snake. BUT  in Thailand where I have been living for nine years in a small town I do not think it will work as the young,mostly men, here  are yaba users and the women suffer with unwanted pregnancies' assaults' and general abuse . I do not have an answer to the problem of Yaba here and all I know it is a major problem and is just increasing.

[Cazna]

On 10/13/2022 at 9:46 AM, Skip said:

It's not about the cost of the pills... it's about the cost to society

Good Call Skip 

[Cazna]

On 10/14/2022 at 3:07 AM, RJBT said:

Portugal has made all drugs  not a criminal offence

Has much less problems with drug use

 I was a cop but now advocate to make drugs legal . You take away the financial initiative  and get rid of the head of the snake. BUT  in Thailand where I have been living for nine years in a small town I do not think it will work as the young,mostly men, here  are yaba users and the women suffer with unwanted pregnancies' assaults' and general abuse . I do not have an answer to the problem of Yaba here and all I know it is a major problem and is just increasing.

Portugal sounds like a very forward thinking country. Legalisation of all drugs is the only way to control this scourge as empirical data has proven time and time again. Then resources can be directed to the scourge of YaaBaa that is destroying a generation. Remove the profits, Remove the corruption. 

[Cazna]

On 10/13/2022 at 12:53 PM, Cabra said:

We can not incarcerate our way out of social problems. It has never been successful. But yet here we are again, applying the same failed strategy to the same problem and expecting different results. It's the definition of insanity. 

The very definition of insanity. Repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.......