Govt Plans War On Drugs 'round Five'

[george]

Government seeks knock out, plans war on drugs 'Round Five'

BANGKOK: -- The Thai government announced Friday that it would resume its fight against drugs early next month and pledged that the renewed round of its war on narcotics, the fifth since late 2003, would eliminate the problem.

Wan Muhammad Nor Matha, who heads the national center to fight narcotics, said the government has been relatively successful in fighting drugs since it has cracked down on both users and traffickers over the past two years.

He said there were some new addictive drugs replacing amphetamines or ''Ya Ba'' and heroin which is very expensive and not easy to get due to government's stiff suppression.

He said the renewed round of the war on drugs would target traffickers and users in the capital and 22 other provinces nationwide, including southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.

''We will also enforce the law to drive tens of thousands of drug addicts into rehabilitation,'' he said.

--TNA 2006-02-25

[yeti]

war on drugs 'Round Five' = 5 rounds in the head of every opponent to the current government that will be charged with drug traficking afterwards?

[TAWP]

Atleast some posters will claim the streets are safer afterwards.

Just stay inside when the shooting starts.

[marquess]

Government seeks knock out, plans war on drugs 'Round Five'

BANGKOK: -- The Thai government announced Friday that it would resume its fight against drugs early next month and pledged that the renewed round of its war on narcotics, the fifth since late 2003, would eliminate the problem.

Wan Muhammad Nor Matha, who heads the national center to fight narcotics, said the government has been relatively successful in fighting drugs since it has cracked down on both users and traffickers over the past two years.

He said there were some new addictive drugs replacing amphetamines or ''Ya Ba'' and heroin which is very expensive and not easy to get due to government's stiff suppression.

He said the renewed round of the war on drugs would target traffickers and users in the capital and 22 other provinces nationwide, including southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.

''We will also enforce the law to drive tens of thousands of drug addicts into rehabilitation,'' he said.

--TNA 2006-02-25

More distraction for the masses, and just before election time, no doubt a few political opponents might end up being removed!

[zzap]

''We will also enforce the law to drive tens of thousands of drug addicts into rehabilitation,'' he said.

Do they have the facilities to accomodate these numbers? Or is 'rehabilitation'=stuffed into a prison cell with 30 other inmates?

[thaipro_pattaya]

A good freind told me that FARANGS used to buy yaba openly on the streets on Bangkok. Who wants a return to those days?

[TAWP]

Why capitalize the word?

[thaipro_pattaya]

for emphasis, I don't know how to italicize text. Do you think it is exceptable for guests of a country to buy hard amphetamine meth drugs from Thai people?

[marquess]

Do you think it is acceptable for Thai people to be selling drugs to Foreigners?

[TAWP]

for emphasis, I don't know how to italicize text. Do you think it is exceptable for guests of a country to buy hard amphetamine meth drugs from Thai people?

Your kidding, right?

Or if you truly are as daft...I think anyone committing a crime should be caught and sentenced. They race has no bearing on that. You clearly show a prejudice in your usage of the word 'farang' in almost every post you make.

Edited February 25, 2006 by TAWP

[thaipro_pattaya]

BOTH ARE WRONG. That is why the government is doing what it has to: kick some ass!

[Guest endure]

BOTH ARE WRONG. That is why the government is doing what it has to: kick some ass!

If by 'kick some ass' you mean murdering its own citizens without trial you're spot on!

[the gent]

I'd hate to be canvassing for the Democrats over the coming weeks.

In the first "war", I recall photographs of that baby shot dead during one of the skirmishes that took place between the police and an alleged drug dealer in Bangkok. Perhaps it is archived somewhere and could be pasted to this thread as a reminder to all those posters who would wish to " kick some ass ". My computer illiteracy prevents me......

[TAWP]

BOTH ARE WRONG. That is why the government is doing what it has to: kick some ass!

Here is a first for you: Clearify as to why we are wrong and supply valid reading-material as to why that is so.

*cough*troll*cough*

[hopeless]

Gone are the days you could smoke a J in a resturant in Samui

[sriracha john]

Government seeks knock out, plans war on drugs 'Round Five'

BANGKOK: -- The Thai government announced Friday that it would resume its fight against drugs early next month and pledged that the renewed round of its war on narcotics, the fifth since late 2003, would eliminate the problem.

Round ONE was alledged to have "eliminated" the problem.

The Thai drugs campaign left more than 2,600 people dead. According to official statements, 2,245 drugs suspects were killed between 1 February and 30 April 2003 alone.

--------------------------------

Curiously, "Dr." Thaksin's doctoral thesis was on why criminal justice practioners tend to break the law. The opening page of it reproduces press reports of police beating and otherwise abusing people.

- "Thaksin, by Phongpaichit and Baker"

Edited February 25, 2006 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

heroin which is very expensive and not easy to get due to government's stiff suppression.

These guys.... all out-of-towners, at that.... seemed to find heroin in large quantities, apparently without too much difficulty:

Thai police arrest suspected Taiwanese drug smugglers Thailand

24/02/2006

ABC Asia Pacific

Police in Thailand say two Taiwanese men have been arrested for trying to smuggle almost eight kilograms of heroin out of the country.

The men are said to have been arrested at their Bangkok apartment.

and just 3 days previous to that...

Heroin smugglers nabbed

February 21, 2006

The Nation

Police yesterday arrested three men at Don Muang airport who allegedly tried to smuggle 2.5 kg of heroin in specially-made body packs from Thailand to Taiwan.

AND the week previous to that... an even bigger load...

Cross-border heroin ring smashed

February 16, 2006

People's Daily Online

A two-year operation involving Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Thai police forces has smashed a cross-border drug ring, resulting in the arrest of 11 people and the seizing of 57.4 kilograms of heroin (the heroin was Thai).

Yep... sounds like heroin is really scarce....

[britmaveric]

Run on kevlar vests again???

Edited February 25, 2006 by britmaveric

[Phil Conners]

Same old discussion. Let people who want to kill themselves do that. Legalize drugs and you no longer have a crime problem. Junkies can get their fix for a couple of coins and no longer have to burgle your house or rob a bank to support their habit.

The obvious answer is that someone in charge is making good money on drugs being illegal.

[Patex]

...Do you think it is exceptable for guests of a country to buy hard amphetamine meth drugs from Thai people?

Back in the early ninethies I was a really good used car seller ( made a fortune selling from west- to former east-germany) ... until my Pervetin- supply oozed away .

I always thought speed was the typical "Used car seller"- drug

[zzap]

heroin which is very expensive and not easy to get due to government's stiff suppression.

These guys.... all out-of-towners, at that.... seemed to find heroin in large quantities, apparently without too much difficulty:

...

...

Yep... sounds like heroin is really scarce....

These are bulk quantities designated for 'export'. Similar to what happened with meth: there isn't necessarily less produced, but the emphasis seems to be on 'export' these days.

Heroin in the streets is indeed scarce and very expensive.

[Heng]

Higher prices of yaba all around (source: not from any kind of national study, as every group can pad their stats however they want anyway.... just from chats about current news events with local massage parlour girls... unconventional, yes... but they don't have anything to gain by padding the stats).

That means it's harder to come by. Another word for that is scarce. That's progress unless you think all these street dealers and hookers are in on the propaganda.

[Gary A]

It appears that the big dealers are making a LOT more money and are still and even better protected than before the "crackdown". Until the government truly cracks down on corruption I see little hope that drugs will be controlled.

What I have seen is more gangs robbing more people to get drug money. Teenage crime is getting totally out of control.

[coldcrush]

Its a better smoke in Burma anyways! lol (jus kidding)

[Orion76]

That means it's harder to come by. Another word for that is scarce. That's progress.

Less competition = higher prices. The ones left in business take bigger risks and demand higher profits, but the drugs are still there and the demand is still there and as long as people are willing to pay to get their fix it will be business as usual.

I have made the same observation as Gary, I have heard more reports about petty crime like street robberies and cell phone snatching since these crackdowns and it wouldn't surprise me if some of this is related to junkies getting more desperate to get their more expensive fix.

But what else can the government do than be tough on drugs in a corrupt country like Thailand where drugs really are a serious social problem?

And what will a corrupt police official do who's been taking bribes from a drug dealer if he is suddenly ordered to arrest that drug dealer (who will likely be tortured to give up his contacts) if he is also offered the option to silence him with a gun instead, no questions asked?

There are less dealers on the street, but not less junkies and not less drugs. While I understand the government in a country like Thailand has to appear to be tough on drugs there will never be progress in the war on drugs for as long as it's approached as a war.

[mogoso]

It appears that the big dealers are making a LOT more money and are still and even better protected than before the "crackdown". Until the government truly cracks down on corruption I see little hope that drugs will be controlled.

True the big guys are making money, but its hard to kill all the democrats , but certainly drug use was more acceptable and easier to do under their rule.

I may not agree with the style of control, but it has worked to an extent.

The example of foriegners coming into the country to purchase drugs in quanity easily leads me to think of PT Barnum saying theres a sucker born every minute. If your a goverment agent it could be profitable to sell and report. Foriegn currency stays in country, drugs are siezed and destoyed or resold to other would be entreprenuers to be busted. agent takes his cut, rest going into the coffers of the country to pay for incarceration. Goverment gets a big story about taking bigtime foriegn trafficers outta the drug business. Win for govement all the way around. Entrapment, yes, but who cares? not me, not my business.

I don't care much for the killings though, too iffy a proposition, but theres not much continueing expense after using a 15 baht bullet.

No matter what my personal views are, Thailands not my country, I may finish out my days of my life there, but I'll never be Thai, I'll never vote there, and I'll have to live under their laws, without much recourse. I'll follow them to the very best I can, as I do in my own country. I'm long past the bulletproffness of youth as well as the it'll not happen to me, I'm way too careful stage. If your going to get involved with such things, you know theres a consequence, you know theres a reason the product is cheaper there. Its purely a risk factor, the " do you feel lucky punk" mentality. Its risky for Thais its risky for farangs. Best to stay away from the trade and anyone associated with it. In Morrocco I believe its a 5 year sentence for even discussing the purchase of drugs with someone, no drugs have to be present. Their country their law. Yet many people smokes abit there

[kayo]

Govt Plans War On Drugs 'round Five'

I thought that meant around five o´´clock....

Just goes to show how unbelievably believable some of the stupidiies are with this gov´t....

I´m glad I was mistaken..

[sriracha john]

heroin which is very expensive and not easy to get due to government's stiff suppression.

These guys.... all out-of-towners, at that.... seemed to find heroin in large quantities, apparently without too much difficulty:

...

...

Yep... sounds like heroin is really scarce....

These are bulk quantities designated for 'export'. Similar to what happened with meth: there isn't necessarily less produced, but the emphasis seems to be on 'export' these days.

Heroin in the streets is indeed scarce and very expensive.

As I have never used it myself, I can only base this on what an acquaintance has informed me and that is that while it is more expensive (haven't the prices of most commodities from gas to chicken gone up?), heroin is still quite readily available when he goes to Pratunam to buy it, or in other words, it's not scarce.

Edited February 27, 2006 by sriracha john

[Heng]

That means it's harder to come by. Another word for that is scarce. That's progress.

Less competition = higher prices. The ones left in business take bigger risks and demand higher profits, but the drugs are still there and the demand is still there and as long as people are willing to pay to get their fix it will be business as usual.

I have made the same observation as Gary, I have heard more reports about petty crime like street robberies and cell phone snatching since these crackdowns and it wouldn't surprise me if some of this is related to junkies getting more desperate to get their more expensive fix.

It wouldn't surprise me that the same drug related crime is from scarcity. You don't price a product in a range where your customers have to commit crimes before consuming. You're right about higher profits and higher risk as more product is now export based/export priced (a rather obvious solution when production capacities were never attacked.... notice no world governments seem to take attacking production seriously), to countries with more civil rights oriented anti-drug legislation. That's still progress though.

Just like any local product, the local economy operates by merchants cutting down margins to near nothing whenever there is anything less than a monopoly or a very strong oligopoly on the product. Although your "Less competition = higher prices" is possible, mostly because anything is possible, higher prices on non-brand commodity products are more commonly the result of lack of supply in most economic systems anywhere in the world.

[Orion76]

You don't price a roduct in a range where your customers have to commit crimes before consuming.

Well you might if getting shot or being sentenced to do 100 years in Bangkwang is a very likely occupational hazard

Let's settle on a scarcity of people stupid enough to still be willing to move the stuff to the local end user, rather than a scarcity of product and users

Edited February 27, 2006 by Orion76