3.7 Million Thais Admit To Using Illegal Drugs: Survey

[webfact]

SURVEY ON MISSING MEDICINES

3.7 million Thais have used drugs

About 3.7 million Thais reported having used narcotic substances other than alcohol drinks and cigarettes, with 2.9 million saying they have taken the drug in the past year, according to Abac poll.

The poll sounding out public opinion about the missing pseudoephidrine-laced medicine said Thursday.

Of those who had taken the drugs, one million were in the northeast followed by the central region at about 700,000 persons, the North at some 500,000 persons, the South at about 300,000 persons and Bangkok Metropolis at more than 200,000 persons.

Of those who had taken the drugs in the past year, 993,986 were persons under 24, while 1.9 million others were aged between 25 and 44.

The poll was conducted in 17 provinces by surveying 48,354,601 persons from March 15 to April 18, said Abac poll director Noppadol Kannikar.

It found that 75.8 per cent of all respondents thought the missing tablets were involved in the making of narcotics, whilst 24.2 per cent thought they weren't related.

Most respondents (65.7 per cent) said the drugtaking drugdealing situations remained in their neighbourhoods, while 34.3 per cent said otherwise. When asked about their satisfaction with the government's drug crackdown operations, 64.9 per cent said they were only slightly pleased and the government must improve whilst 35.1 per cent said they were quite satisfied to very satisfied.

Comparing the antidrug policies of Thaksin Shinawatra's administration and Yingluck Shinawatra's government, 41.3 per cent said Thaksin's was better whilst 32.9 per cent said Yingluck's was better, and 25.8 gave no comment.

-- The Nation 2012-04-19

[george]

Surveying 48,354,601 persons?!

[Payboy]

Thais Admit

Jeez, what were they smoking.

[Payboy]

Surveying 48,354,601 persons?!

1,465,290 interviewed per day.

ABAC poll.

[Thai at Heart]

Oh dear oh dear. Was this a first year statistics class? ABAC saves the day again.

How the hell do you go about surveying 48mn people?

[pieandmash]

How the hell do you go about surveying 48mn people?

Probably a show of hands!

[soundman]

48+ million Has to be typo.

or

maybe more substance to the claims that Thai polls start at the desired result (for the person or organisation paying for the research) and work backwards to justify it....

[Crushdepth]

The way the press present ABAC poll statistics is just weird.

[bigbamboo]

Were they using one of the new student tablets to arrive at these figures or was it the same guy who counts the numbers of red shirts?

Edited April 19, 2012 by bigbamboo

[Bluespunk]

The population of Thailand is around 68,000,000 and the pollsters claim to have polled 48,000,000 plus. I don't know what drugs the pollsters have been taking themselves to come out with such utter nonsense, but should come down from their trip before filing results next time.

[culicine]

Well they had to say they surveyed that many to justify the cost per head lol They probably surveyed 2000 and extrapolated !! It's got to be a typo ofcourse.

[dereklev]

48+ million Has to be typo.

or

maybe more substance to the claims that Thai polls start at the desired result (for the person or organisation paying for the research) and work backwards to justify it....

Having spent 20+ years doing Data Processing for Market Research companies I can assure that it is not just Thai polls that start with the desired result

[Misterwhisper]

Oh dear oh dear. Was this a first year statistics class? ABAC saves the day again.

How the hell do you go about surveying 48mn people?

...and in less than one month.

[hellodolly]

The population of Thailand is around 68,000,000 and the pollsters claim to have polled 48,000,000 plus. I don't know what drugs the pollsters have been taking themselves to come out with such utter nonsense, but should come down from their trip before filing results next time.

It's obvious they are taking speed

[soundman]

It's obvious they are taking speed

Very good.

[w11guy]

Obviously a mis-translation. I assume they mean that the poll was conducted in 17 provinces and that 48,354,601 people live in those provinces. So the survey results are based on that population and not the rest of Thailand. So 2.9 million out of 48.3 million admitted to taking drugs in the last year. Not 2.9 million out of the whole population.

[surangw]

the thais interviewed were asked about drug use, tourists ( cornered) were asked if they wanted to go to a free time share lunch.

[Ijustwannateach]

I like how pseudoephedrine, a common cold medicine and the only effective decongestant (well, except for the original ephedrine) has now been criminalised and sensationalised, so that medicine containing it is now 'LACED' with pseudoephedrine. Ah, actifed, I feel so naughty!!!

[Unkomoncents]

48,000,000 plus respondents for the world's most comprehensive poll. Call Guinness Book! Oh, wait, we're in Thailand...uh...probably they started having a little too much fun with those mesmerizing little buttons on the calculator. They have numbers on them, and numbers seem to be a great source of wonder for most people here ("5 and 9 mean lucky; 4 mean death"; I count 1-2-3-5-9...Yay!!! Me soooo lucky!). Perhaps I'm being mean, but I'm not wrong. My condo buildings are numbered 5-4-1-2-3?!

[mca]

]About 3.7 million Thais reported having used narcotic substances other than alcohol drinks and cigarettes, with 2.9 million saying they have taken the drug in the past year, according to Abac poll.[/b]

A further 4.8 million were too caned to understand the question.

Edited April 19, 2012 by mca

[webfact]

DSI summons hospital directors

The Nation

Survey finds 3.7m Thais having used drugs, with 2.9m saying they did it in the past year

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) summoned four hospital directors yesterday to provide information about the missing pseudoephedrinebased medication and will seek further testimony from seven other hospital directors today.

Pol LtColonel Pongin Inkhao, a DSI official who is overseeing the case, said directors from the Central Udon Thani Hospital, Uttaradit's Thong Saen Khan Hospital, Chiang Mai's Doi Lor and Hot hospitals as well as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have provided useful information and evidence. Next week, the DSI will summon those involved in the dispensing of medication, including doctors, pharmacists and other hospital staff, he added.

Meanwhile, Surasing Wisarutrat, deputy chief of the Chiang Mai public health office, said yesterday that disciplinary probes at the Hot and Doi Lor hospitals were ongoing and that police information and evidence would be taken into consideration soon.

He added that the four personnel believed to have been involved in the disappearance of pills would be posted at the Public Health Ministry indefinitely. Surasing said the probe panels had only summoned the four suspects a couple of times. The suspects include a hospital director, pharmacist and drugdispensing official from the Hot hospital as well as a pharmacist from the Doi Lor Hospital. He added that the probe results would not be released in the next month and that they had been given a sixmonth timeframe.

In related news, about 3.7 million Thais have admitted to using narcotics, with 2.9 million saying they had taken drugs in the past year, an Abac poll sounding out public opinion about the missing pseudoephedrinebased pills said yesterday.

Of those who had taken the drugs, a million came from the Northeast followed by about 700,000 people from the Central region, 500,000 from the North, about 300,000 from the South and more than 200,000 people from Bangkok.

Of those who admitted to taking drugs in the past year, 993,986 were under the age of 24, while 1.9 million were aged between 25 and 44.

The survey covered 12,486 households in 17 provinces and was conducted from March 15 to April 18, Abac poll director Noppadol Kannikar said. It discovered that while 75.8 per cent of all respondents thought the missing tablets were used to make drugs, 24.2 per cent said the two were not related.

Most respondents (65.7 per cent) said they believed the drugs were being used and trafficked in their neighbourhood, while 34.3 per cent said otherwise. When asked if they were satisfied by the government's crackdown operations, 64.9 per cent said the authorities needed to improve, though 35.1 per cent said they were satisfied.

Comparing the antidrugs policies under Thaksin Shinawatra to those of the current administration, 41.3 per cent said Thaksin's policies were better, 32.9 per cent said Yingluck Shinawatra's policies are better, while 25.8 per cent refused to comment.

Meanwhile, Chiang Rai police chief Pol MajGeneral Surachet Thopunyanon yesterday announced three drug busts, in which 67,238 yaba tablets and 200 grams of crystal methamphetamine or ice were seized.

Police cornered Phitsanu Pimoldamrongkiat, 35, just after he delivered a sack containing 66,000 yaba tablets to an undercover police officer's pickup truck. He said he had been given Bt20,000 to deliver the yaba in Mae Sai district's Huai Khrai Market, but had mistaken the customer's vehicle for the police vehicle.

The second bust saw former soldier Wirat Jantanet, 25, and nurse Dussadee Praditkul, 35, being arrested on a Chiang KhonBangkok bus with 1,238 yaba tablets hidden in their luggage. While Wirat confessed to the crime, Dussadee maintained her innocence.

In the third case, Thipwadi Thongprasom, 30; Anusak Nimnuan, 19; Somkid Tharasaksit, 20; and an 18yearold man were arrested along with 200 grams of ice. As part of a police sting operation, undercover police sold the drug to Thipwadi and Anusak, and arrested them later in Muang district before extending operations and nabbing the other two men in an apartment. Police also seized five mobile phones that were packed in bubble wrap to be reportedly thrown over a prison wall.

In Ubon Ratchathani's Muang district, police announced yesterday that after arresting drug suspect Surasith Chanhom they had found that the suspect and other members of his gang also stole motorbikes and exchanged them for yaba. Apparently one motorcycle can be exchanged for 600 yaba tablets. Five members of the gang, including a Laotian man, have been arrested so far.

-- The Nation 2012-04-20

[jcw]

"Having spent 20+ years doing Data Processing for Market Research companies I can assure that it is not just Thai polls that start with the desired result "

[hyperdimension]

The way the press present ABAC poll statistics is just weird.

Every article that quotes poll statistics should provide a link to download the actual poll results and any other relevant references.

[hyperdimension]

When asked about their satisfaction with the government's drug crackdown operations, 64.9 per cent said they were only slightly pleased and the government must improve whilst 35.1 per cent said they were quite satisfied to very satisfied.

Notice that the only options for this question were "slightly pleased", "quite satisfied" and "very satisfied", but not "unsatisfied" nor "completely against it". Considering that millions have taken illegal drugs and will continue to do so, I'm sure many would choose "completely against it" if it was an option.

If the finding that millions have taken illegal drugs is so bad, then legalizing the illegal drugs would result in complete eradication of illegal drug usage.

Edited April 20, 2012 by hyperdimension

[blundaman]

and so Big Pharma wins hands down again, I think I need an aspirin..

[PETERTHEEATER]

It found that 75.8 per cent of all respondents thought the missing tablets were involved in the making of narcotics, whilst 24.2 per cent thought they weren't related.

I think they got confused with the Tablet Computers for the Grade 1 school kids!

[anterian]

Surveying 48,354,601 persons?!

Exactly my comment in the Nation. That's more than the total vote in the last election. 80% of the population!

[KKK]

surveying 48,354,601 persons from March 15 to April 18

The survey covered 12,486 households in 17 provinces and was conducted from March 15 to April 18

= 3,873 persons per household.....Overcrowding like that would drive anybody to drugs....

[belg]

it's time to start building a few prisons in each province... farmers can become guards

[luckyman]

Thais Admit

Jeez, what were they smoking.

I think too that the most incredible part of the article is the statement that Thais willingly admitted to use an illegal drug, that's so not-Thai.

Apart from that, if the figures are true indeed, then a whopping 6% of the population has used at least once illegal drugs while 5% of the Thai pop. had some the last year alone.

That is a lot.