82% of Thai convicts are in for drugs - now they can get their sentences reduced - "War on Drugs" failure highlighted

[Purdey]

Portugal decriminalized drug offences in 2001. 

• Drug-related deaths have remained below the EU average since 2001
• The proportion of prisoners sentenced for drugs has fallen from 40% to 15%
• Rates of drug use have remained consistently below the EU average

They provide a support system to wean people off drugs and are doing more than any country to end the curse of drug use. 

[Sydebolle]

Dont lock anyone up, legalize and tax the stuff and get on with life. The "business" would be decriminalized but this would put some "phuyais" out of business overnight .... 

[The Hammer2021]

15 hours ago, digger70 said:

The penalty isn't harsh enough yet ,Be serious No one forces people to take drugs 

Up the Ante  Harsher penalties are in order.

The pursuit of  oblivion is a human trait and is legitimate. In Mexico half a million people have been killed by the war on drugs but most were not in the trade. The war on drugs does more damage than drugs. Harm reduction comes via controlled decriminalization.

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by The Hammer2021

[The Hammer2021]

11 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

Dont lock anyone up, legalize and tax the stuff and get on with life. The "business" would be decriminalized but this would put some "phuyais" out of business overnight .... 

All over the world politicians and police benefit from prohibition.

[Sydebolle]

3 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

All over the world politicians and police benefit from prohibition.

Regretfully I have to agree with you ....... ???? 

 

[Longwood50]

22 hours ago, Smithson said:

 

For a successful drug policy, try Portugal.

Maybe Portugal should try Greece's Policy.  Portugal's rate though lower than other EU countries is not markedly different than Romania, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Latvia, or Sweden.  By contrast Greece with mandatory life penalties for those who are involved in criminal trafficking organizations, and it has a markedly lower rate of drug problem than Portugal.  PS Singapore with the death penalty has the lowest rate of drug problems in the world. 

As for "human rights" I have no problem whatsoever sentencing a drug trafficker to death.  Bleeding heart liberals seem to ignore the deaths that these people cause via selling poison to the public and the pain and suffering inflicted on those addicted.  They seem to have no empathy for the crime, and related killings associated with the drug trafficking.  To me, the drug trafficker who is responsible for selling hard drugs has committed a far more heinous crime than a person who kills another with a gun/knife in that the drug pusher potentially causes many deaths.  

You want an example of a rehabilitated drug trafficker.  One that is no longer in a physical state allowing them ever to sell drugs again. 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/597788/problem-drug-use-prevalence-europe-by-country/

 

https://greekreporter.com/2015/09/30/new-law-in-greece-will-sentence-certain-drug-dealers-to-life-in-prison/

 

 

 

 

[rudi49jr]

23 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

Locking up the offender is not going to accomplish much if anything.  However executing those trafficking in drugs will reduce the supply and hence the number of people who become addicted and/or exposed to drug usage. 

But evidence of this so-called ‘war on drugs’ in Thailand under Thaksin and what Duterte is doing in the Phillippines, suggests that there are/were countless (thousands) extra judicial executions, almost all of them small time users and dealers. The big guys never get caught, because they are too well connected.

You can execute as many drugs dealers as you want, it will never stop the flow, because it is simply too profitable. Legalizing it is the only option.

[seedy]

Drug use is a Health and Social Services problem, not a law enforcement problem.

Anyone who can not see this is a ... ( self deletion)

Executing drug dealers - Unworkable, and will change nothing.

You know why people deal drugs - for the money. That is IT !

Why such a profit - it is illegal. Why is it illegal - War on Drugs. Why the War on Drugs - to make money. See how this works.

Alcohol is a drug. Let's execute drunk drivers who cause death.

Big Pharma kills millions, many more millions addicted, all perfectly legal. Let's kill all executives of Big Pharma.

The Gov't granted licenses to Big Pharma to peddle their poison - let's kill the politicians.

Palm oil cultivation kills, displaces, and makes homeless many many people, forcing them to be unable to send their children to school and seek a better life. Let's kill the palm oil plantation owners.

 

In closing ...

I Would Like to Thank Drugs for Winning the War on Drugs

 

[Longwood50]

45 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Legalizing it is the only option.

Using that logic I guess we should also decriminalize murder because murders will always happen.  How about decriminalizing rape because rape will always happen.  Instead of selling drugs how about trafficking in sex slaves, that has happened forever and since we have no chance of stopping it, merely make the buying and selling of other humans legal. 

You may never be able to stop completely the drug trade but I suggest you can greatly diminish it by making the penalties for trafficking in it a mandatory death penalty for those convicted of being "serious" drug dealers And the death penalty would be carried out shortly after sentencing and not the 30 year stay in prison with all of your needs attended to. 

You can also start to severely punish those caught as habitual users.  Not any different than drunk drivers.  1st offense gets you some penalties and counseling.  Your 3rd offense gets you locked up in jail. 

I know this if the penalty for lets say stealing was a slap on the wrist and a 100 baht fine you would have more of a likelihood to steal than if you were caught the penalty was the loss of your wrist the way they do in Muslim countries. 

Yes money is a motivating factor that is why the punishment needs to be so certain and severe as to deter those considering entering the drug trade to continue.  Legalizing it only takes the profit motive out of the criminals and expands the number of addicts.  Hardly a good trade off. 

[seedy]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4800748/

 

https://thehighcourt.co/war-on-drugs-statistics/

Edited December 12, 2021 by seedy

[metisdead]

An off topic post about opioid deaths in the USA has been removed as this topic is about "82% of Thai convicts are in for drugs - now they can get their sentences reduced - "War on Drugs" failure highlighted"

[rudi49jr]

20 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

Yes money is a motivating factor that is why the punishment needs to be so certain and severe as to deter those considering entering the drug trade to continue.

Money is the ONLY motivating factor. Billions and billions of dollars can be made in this industry, and in corrupt countries, such as Thailand, the big dogs will always get away with it. And in countries with a high rate of poverty, such as Thailand, there will always be enough people willing to risk everything to make a quick buck.

Besides, they’ve been waging this war on drugs for decades now, and it didn’t have any noticeable effect, did it? Even in countries with the most draconian measures and punishments, drugs are widely available.
You can never win this, because there is simply just too much money involved. In a small country like Holland, the ‘weed’ industry alone brings in about 10 billion euros. And that’s just weed, imagine how much is made selling coke and meth and xtc and such. And that is just Holland, imagine how much is being made in much bigger countries like the USA. Money is power, so the big players will almost always get away with it, and they will also always be able to find new ‘soldiers’ to traffick and sell the drugs for them, no matter how many you put in jail or execute.

[Longwood50]

3 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Even in countries with the most draconian measures and punishments, drugs are widely available.

Yes I am sure it is just a coincidence that the countries that are Muslim and have the harshest penalties have the lowest rate of opiate use with Singapore being the lowest in the world. 

[seedy]

Drug gangs have been killing each other since the 'War on Drugs' (which is a war on people of color and the poor)

Has this decreased the amount of people willing to involve themselves in this business ? NO

So why do you think that - if the Gov't adopts the exact same thing - the outcome will be any different ?

Only those who can not apply rational thought to the problem will be able to understand that Drug Use and Abuse is a Health and Social Services problem, not a law enforcement problem.

 

Consisting of five separate booklets, the World Drug Report 2021 provides an in-depth analysis of the global drug markets and paints a comprehensive picture of the measurable effects and potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the world drug problem.

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/wdr2021.html

[huangnon]

The drug of choice accounting for most of those prison stats is methamphetamine. There are massive production bases just over the borders on Thailand's neighboring countries. So you can guess who is involved in this business.

The pill version of meth is everywhere in Thailand. "Yaba" (crazy drug) was originally called "ya-maa" (horse *power* drug) when I came here in the early 90's. They sold it at petrol stations to truckers and construction workers so they could do 20 hour shifts. Until prolonged use made them seriously ill, crazy, or dead.

I seriously doubt anyone in Govt here will do anything to stop this trade. The vast amount of money made off-the-books finances political campaigns and lavish lifestyles at the top of the food chain.

[seedy]

“ Evidence of the failure of drug prohibition to achieve its stated goals, as well as the severe negative consequences of these policies, is often denied by those with vested interests in maintaining the status quo. This has created confusion among the public and has cost countless lives. Governments and international organisations have ethical and legal obligations to respond to this crisis and must seek to enact alternative evidence-based strategies that can effectively reduce the harms of drugs without creating harms of their own. ” The Vienna Declaration 2010

 

https://transformdrugs.org › count-the-costs-health

 

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by seedy

[seedy]

“Count the Costs is an important and timely initiative. The failed war on drugs has empowered organised crime, destabilised governments, violated human rights and devastated human lives everywhere.”

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjj-o6NoOD0AhUKxTgGHXWpD-IQFnoECAMQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unodc.org%2Fdocuments%2Fungass2016%2FContributions%2FCivil%2FCount-the-Costs-Initiative%2FAWDR-exec-summary.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3Bl9TBlgLfgtKc-DLFQl4Z