Thailand Burns 190 Million Dollars Of Drugs

[Pui]

Oh great, now let's pour away all the booze and hang all the hookers, then what will do for fun?

"Take to the roads" thats always dicing with death.

[Pui]

Yes the Taliban are the anti-drug brigade. They force the people NOT to grow opium. <div>We have the wrong end of the telescope. Illegality of drugs causes most of the misery in the world. Corruption, disease, wars all in the name of a war on drugs. Well the war is lost no matter how you measure it and now all that's left are warlords and raiders with the own little fiefdoms killing or corrupting whomever they please. When oil, drugs and military hardware are the three largest industries in the world you know there's more to this than meets the eye.</div>

Thailand used to be a major opium producer. Now it isn't. There are not many countries that can reverse their drug problems. Look at southern California. You can't even get out of your car. No more "surfing USA" there. Thailand has successfully decreased its drug production. Hats off to them!

Edited June 25, 2010 by Pui

[moetownblues]

Oh great, now let's pour away all the booze and hang all the hookers, then what will do for fun?

read the Koran?

What? Bin Lanen a Muslim and a reader of the Koran relies on the drug industry to support his evil ways. Muslims flock to places like Pattaya for the bar girls. Read the Koran what do you mean?

[cdnvic]

Ok, lets not turn this into another discussion about:

- Legalisation pros & cons

- Islam

[ThomasThailand]

I think it is wrong to burn it:

Take the drgs - especially not the tablets- but Opium etc. and make sure that registered people are 'hooked' getting there daily injection.

Why: easy

- they dont have to steel others to get the money,

- you destoy the 'market' of the drugdealers - no money back to the producers (like taliban)

= making the market down for drugs, better to grow potatoes to sell them, getting money

end so on ...

[johncat1]

<br>they could have done this near a full moon party ->  everybody high for free... <br><br>china has a nice policy for drug sellers... and cheap too and final<br>

<br><br>Yes

Somebody emailed me some horrific photos of public executions of two beautiful Chinese girls who sold drugs

Who were no longer beautiful after being shot through the back of the head at point blank range by the military / police ( no face left ) this was a public execution and was witnessed by large crowds of people

Edited June 25, 2010 by johncat1

[Steele404]

Oh wha-aaat.......  two things can happen...<br>1) heroine  rain<br>2) me renting a plane to catch some of the puff in the air<br>

[johncat1]

Hope no one was standing down wind!!!!!!

The police were probably selling tickets to the people standing downwind

[sedeflonga]

Too many negative replies on some very positive news.

I don't feel that it's positive news, its sad that so much comes into Thailand. It's

only a small percentage which really is in the country, think again...

[asiawatcher]

I would have been honoured to be the one to light the match! Good riddance.

[hyperdimension]

Anyone who says "drugs are bad" and consumes alcohol and/or smokes tobacco is a hypocrite.

[cusanus]

Now let's burn all the pharmaceuticals, and don't forget the factories where they make the stuff.

[tigermonkey]

Now let's burn all the pharmaceuticals, and don't forget the factories where they make the stuff.

Read the entire article -- they did burn pharmaceuticals -- codeine ( analgesic ) , ephedrine ( decongestant ) ., etc -- I wonder what is the story behind these 'illicit' drugs that they seized ?

[rayw]

Hmm well a good job to rid the streets of those really harmful hard drugs like Heroin and Cocaine but to me it is stupid outlawing Marijuana yet allowing alcohol as any serious unbiased scientist will tell you alcohol and even tobacco cause more harm than marijuana. Still that is the law here and in many western countries so the nice marijuana gets burned too. The arabs are of course the complete opposite and outlaw alcohol yet allow marijuana, best if we all worldwide allowed both as prohibition never works anyway. It should never be illegal to take drugs as that is up to each individual but sure the selling of illegal hard drugs outside of licenced pharmacies should be clamped down on even harder and stop wasting police time on chasing the poor users or even sellers of fairly harmless marijuana. Serious drug addicts (no not marijuana users as unlike alcohol it is definitely NOT physically addictive though taking it regularly can become a habit) really need help to get off those dangerous hard drugs not criminalising which to me is stupid and thoughtless. Anyway just my candid view as really not my problem now as I am peacefully retired here and have to accept the laws in the country I have chosen to live in for my retirement years. I certainly did smoke marijuana back home in my younger day with most of my mates and work colleagues, as it was pretty much the norm in the UK and still is I understand where pot smoking is accepted by the police although still basically as illegal as moderately breaking the speed limit.

There is so much rhetoric and crap talked about marijuana for sure and probably several other mild drugs too, folk need to look up the serious scientific facts from open minded progressive organisations not the religious restrictive organisations and conservative establishment sites. Anyway I am happy here just having my occasional few drinks and enjoying peaceful life here in Thailand away from the problems and hustle of Bangkok.

Edited June 25, 2010 by rayw

[Johpa]

Something decent has happened here for a change!!

Oh please, every year they have one of these ritualized burnings of narcotics and every year none of the higher ups in narcotics world, neither drug lords nor police nor bankers, are ever brought to trial. One must be taking a hit from the communal bong to think that this annual charade represents something decent.

Chaiyo!

[sukhumvitlegend]

'Burns' and $190M in the same sentance. I'm sure that went exactly according to the plan ?!?!!?!?!?

[ding]

Good start.

I like the wild freedoms in Thailand, but DRUGS ARE EVIL.

Flat out.

[jboras]

What a joke!

1. How long have they been accumulating this?

2. How much did they sell before burning this paltry amount?

3. How much did they keep for their ongoing business?

Come on! These jokers are the dragon lords of the trade!

[overhaul38]

I'm not saying, but there have been cases throughout the world where the police burned phony piles of drugs and sold the confiscated drugs.

I'm sure someone verified that the drugs burned were actually drugs.

[Peshay]

The opiate trade has not subsided at all the Taliban have tons of opium they force the Afghanis to grow it for them. Their storehouses are flooded and brown sugar, heroin that they make not refined to the 4th step white, is a huge problem not only in Afghanistan but everywhere. They are the worlds largest producer of opium and now heroin. The heroin that is being smuggled into Thailand is originating from Afghanistan. It is most commonly smoked on tin foil "chasing the dragon". It needs a drop of lemon or lime juice to inject it, it is very crude and maybe 70% pure if that. Years ago Mumbai was full of opium dens where you could buy and eat or smoke opium, now on Sukalaji street, you see groups of men hunched over the tinfoil, stores actually sell specially made straws to suck up the smoke.

It's my understanding that Opium was almost eradicated during the times that the Taliban held power in Afghanistan.

The US invaded Afghanistan and then Opium production skyrocketed. The opium in Afghanistan now is said to be about 80% - 90% of the worlds heroin supply. The CIA are the ones running the heroin.

We have to watch nonsense propaganda on the news in the US about why the US military "allows" them to farm 90% of the worlds heroin. They say nonsense about how they don't like it but the truth is, this is their culture! and these murderers, and torturers, and all the other horrible things these soldiers do... they would never on earth dream of interfering with another person's culture. Complete nonsense.

This is so true,the CIA are defo the ones running the show with the heroin,after all drugs are a multi billion dollar industry worldwide,the CIA have also been controlling the flow of cocaine into the US for decades!

[cdnvic]

Some posts that did not heed the previous warning were removed.

[sharking]

well done thailand

[jalansanitwong]

I dont believe this post.

[Somrak]

One day the US will learn something and we not have to burn drogs anymore!

Then we will controle and tax drogs, the addicts can go to work and we spend "the 190 millon" for a good cause.

Switzerland was/is on a good way to do this!

[rreddin]

Good timing ,needs postive news for a change !

The black lining to this particular silver cloud is that this is only a gesture. Corruption ensures that some of the seized drugs soon finds its way back onto the market. What good news it would be if that were prevented.

[hyperdimension]

Notice that in the title the amount of drugs is measured in monetary units, not in weight. Most of the time in these drug bust reports, the phrase "worth of" is used after stating the monetary value, e.g. "190M worth of drugs".

Using monetary value as a measure of the scale of drugs seized is sensationalist journalism, as the value only arises from the demand and scarcity of the products. If they weren't illegal, the monetary values of the same products might be around the same as for legal drugs and herbs such as Viagra/Cialis/Kamagra, Vodka, Japanese green tea and red ginseng.

Monetary values for anything only exist due to demand in a market, and if something in demand is made more scarce, the market value is likely to increase.

So:

increased amounts of drugs seized leads to decreased supply;

decreased supply leads to increased market value (assuming demand does not subside);

increased market value leads to more sensationalist journalism, stating huge monetary values.

Edited June 26, 2010 by hyperdimension

[cdnvic]

Can't keep deleting personal attacks and off topic comments at this rate. Better off closed.