Thai parents alarmed by cheap pills-and-soda narcotics

[webfact]

Parents Alarmed By Cheap Pills-And-Soda Narcotics

BANGKOK: -- Ton, a 14-year-old boy in Samut Prakarn Province, was sent to hospital after he passed out in his classroom. Doctors told his parents he took an overdose of painkiller pills.

But Ms. Kung, his mother, said she had also noticed that his behaviour has changed dramatically recently. Ton often seemed dazed, sounding like a drunkard, and had developed a habit of drinking sugary drinks. He also ate less.

After the hospitalisation, Ton reportedly confessed to his mother he had been taking painkiller substance called ′Tramadol′ with soft drinks - a recipe for making cheap, makeshift hallucinative drugs taught to him by 10th grade students at his school.

Those senior students told Ton that taking Tramadol with sugary drinks would make him feel like he can fly, Ms. Kung said in an interview. They also advised him to take it with alcohol "for better effect", she said.

Ms. Kung then consulted a pharmacist, and was horrified to learn that Tramadol can be easily found at any drug store.

(The identities of both Ms. Kung and her son cannot be disclosed per publishing regulation concerning the coverage of illegal drugs)

The students claimed to have bought the medicine from a drugstore in Paknam Market. Reportedly, the drug is only sold to regular student customers. The pills can be bought up to 90 pills at a time, for 2-4 baht each, according to the students.

Ms. Kung said she would like to warn other parents in the Province and other regions to keep close look at their children, lest they have similar behaviour to her son.

‘Tramadol’ is a painkilling drug generally used among those who suffer severe pain. The substance in Tramadol formed closely to those of Morphine, which makes the drug usually be abused by those who crave for the more restricted substance.

Narcotic Control Division Director, Mr. Prapon Angtrakul, said that the drug could only be sold under restriction from the pharmacists, as it bears many dangerous side effects.

However, "To escalate the regulation for the drug is easy, but we must think of the patients who rely on the drug”, Mr. Prapong said.

The NCD director also said that several cases had been reported about the drug abuse and urged pharmacists to aware of their customers’ purposes for the drug.

Source: http://www.khaosod.co.th/en/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRNM056WXdOekF3T1E9PQ==

-- KHAOSOD English 2013-08-28

[Om85]

Legalize weed so people will not need alcohol neither any of this stuff.

[NongKhaiKid]

Another sad tale about youth going / being led astray.

However the story is sadly sort of detail, for example the mother reports seeing a considerable change in the boy's behaviour but no suggestion she did anything until he was hospitalised and admitted what he had been taking.

If things go true to form the mother will blame the school authorities for not exercising proper supervision of their students and the school will question her parenting. This " pass the parcel " attitude, all too common, does not help youth with guidance in their formative years.

[noitom]

The parenting should begin long before use is detected.

[garydubbs]

Legalize weed so people will not need alcohol neither any of this stuff.

i'm sure the mother in question will be very happy her 14 year old come home stoned instead

[Om85]

Legalize weed so people will not need alcohol neither any of this stuff.

i'm sure the mother in question will be very happy her 14 year old come home stoned instead

well, if read the article i am sure you noticed that her son was already stoned.

[bigbamboo]

Legalize weed so people will not need alcohol neither any of this stuff.

i'm sure the mother in question will be very happy her 14 year old come home stoned instead

Better stoned than stone dead.

[Dante99]

Pharmacies allowed to sell drugs to kids, good government policy.

[jaidam]

Legalize weed so people will not need alcohol neither any of this stuff.

I believe this tramadol with cola cocktail has come about after the authorities began to severely crack down on kratom usage. It had long been brewed into a "tea" and consumed by labourers as well as just chomping on raw leaves. Recently the police have been aggresively targeting users and treating it in the same class as ganja. Ridiculous situation that has led to kids experimenting with readily available opiates as their soft and harmless herbs to relax after a hard days bookworming are unavailable.

[lee b]

CRAZY, He learn from other students OMG

[Neeranam]

Tramadol can be bought from any drug store in Khon Kaen. I've even been OFFERED a variety of benzodiazepines and painkillers that are illegal. Like all laws in Thailand, they don't mean much.

In saying that, the drug that causes the most deaths/suffering in Thailand is advertised and no t controlled - alcohol.

[Andre0720]

It is not drugs, it is a pain killer.

And these Thai kids seem to have a pain in their heads....

[WitawatWatawit]

Legalize weed so people will not need alcohol neither any of this stuff.

i'm sure the mother in question will be very happy her 14 year old come home stoned instead

well, if read the article i am sure you noticed that her son was already stoned.

I can't believe I'm reading this. The issue is about a 14yo using tramadol, not weed (which I agree should be legalised). Why did you bring weed into the thread? The implied suggestion is that you believe the 14yo should be smoking dope. cup-O-coffee, thank you for the word of the day - "idiots".

[BlackJack]

the tax on this should be increased

also it should only be sold between 11am and 2pm

this should stop the problem

oh and put nasty lables of people falling apart on the fron so people wont by it

[Krataiboy]

Well, thanks Mr Newspaper Editor - now all the kids know the name of the drug, what it costs and where to get it. Jeez!

[Tywais]

It is not drugs, it is a pain killer.

It is a drug, even Paracetamol is a drug.

From looking it up, Tramadol looks pretty nasty.

[myluckythai]

It will definately NOT be this item that brings kids to the name Tramadol. that is ridiculous. thai kids reading this forum. The problem are the Thai people themselves, who just don't seem to need any changes in Laws.

When i see the problems they have with alcohol ,yaba, and medicine, and i see how the lobby against these substances is operated. or maybe better said. is not operated.

peope should stand up themselves against their governments to show them they are actually disagreeing with the current ways of doing. Nobody does. yes i am sure there are organisations that do,but how many Thai people you know that actually express their concerns openly and try to do something about it? i know all Thai people know about these problems, but a healty discussion about it like is normal back home to get people better educated and get officials better motivated. Nope

Normally it moves people to change when problems emerge. I dont see any change of this kind. a change for the worse yeah.

They keep Drugs highly prohibited wich causes more problems with it than it actually solves. and dont give a damn about drinking and medicine abuse

keep the drugs discussion closed and keep alcohol cheap and keep medicine easy accessible to anyone.

Why i don;t know but nobody (thai people themselves that is) seems to argue this reality enough over here.

as long as it is not happening to them personally they don't seem to care and when it does ,almost all of the time, i know of , they are not able or willing to change it and just let themselves get ruined and go down at many time a too young age.

What is this passiveness about?

Edited August 28, 2013 by jviersel

[Thai at Heart]

Why is it legal to sell tramadol to kids?

[robblok]

Why is it legal to sell tramadol to kids?

Stupid of course but if it was legal to sell to adults then adults would buy it for the kids (not the parents but people wanting to make money)

Tramadol is a useful drug it is a shame if it looses it OTC status because of this.

[Thai at Heart]

Why is it legal to sell tramadol to kids?

Stupid of course but if it was legal to sell to adults then adults would buy it for the kids (not the parents but people wanting to make money)

Tramadol is a useful drug it is a shame if it looses it OTC status because of this.

So, the problem isn't the pill but illegal, immoral and stupid people. Let's blame the pill.

[jmccarty]

I have taken large doses of Tramadol for nerve damage pain in the past. It would take a very large dose to get anything other than a mild sleepy feeling and shortened attention span. Probably a liver damaging dose I would expect! Kids are playing with fire!

[Neeranam]

I took tramadol when I broke my rib. I was advised not to take for more than 8 days and I understand why - very addictive and mind altering.

[Colabamumbai]

Tramadol/Tramex sold under a number of names for pain opiod based, is not a narcotic, but is used for pain only. Available at any pharmacy in Thailand

I do not know how he or they were getting off on them, I have 30 in a bag here, it has been 6 months since I took one, with broken parts from a motorcycle accident.

Thats like kids in the 80's putting "gravol" in their eyes.

Remember the stories that if you took aspirin and drank coke you would get high????

[Colabamumbai]

When is going to tell them that he is also taking yaba.

[TomTom55]

Tramadol is so easy to get, I am watching this story on Channel 3 at the moment. I have bought it OTC when I have had severe pain as I know a lot about pharmacology and know that it suffices well for chronic pain.

I also have abused it in the past, I think the most I ever took in a day was on a trip to Penang being bored, I took 18 50mg capsules. The risk with high doses of tramadol is mainly seizures. It is the only opiate that is also an antidepressant (SSRI) which is one reason why it makes seizures a higher risk. Of course also over dosing is a risk if you are mixing it with alcohol, I have never heard of this soda method though.

You can get Tramadol for as little as 25 baht up to around 40 baht for a blister pack of 10 capsules equating to 500mg.

I understand the parents worry and suffering and I am glad the Thai media for ONCE has blanked out their faces and given some respect to those who should be allowed some.

[TomTom55]

It is not drugs, it is a pain killer.

It is a drug, even Paracetamol is a drug.

From looking it up, Tramadol looks pretty nasty.

Yea I don't understand why some people seem to put some substances into 'drug' categories and others 'non drugs', for example many people would say caffeine is not a drug, yet it kills more people than most illegal drugs around today.

As far as tramadol goes it is an opiate but it is not that potent. On the opiate scale it is pretty far down there just above codeine. Also, it is a weird little drug because some people seem to be immune to it's qualities and report of non affect being felt whatsoever. This is a small percent but I would assume that would be due to specific enzymes in the liver.

[Dumu Ali]

drugs and narcotics is big business - ladyboys but tranquilizers for their John in pharmacy everyday - Nana chemists sell Rohypnol and lots of other mad drugs so what else is new - we all know this and it has being going on for years - Bangkok Hospital sells real morphine for arab heroin addicts who resell it in Nana and what else is new - this is an old well known part of the grey drugs market which always complement black market (no pun on the dealers intended)

[stoli]

Why is it legal to sell tramadol to kids?

Stupid of course but if it was legal to sell to adults then adults would buy it for the kids (not the parents but people wanting to make money)

Tramadol is a useful drug it is a shame if it looses it OTC status because of this.

Tramadol is a useful drug it is a shame if it looses it OTC status because of this. I could not agree more. How stupid for someone to compare this mild pain reliever to morphine. Shows that they have no knowledge of Tramadol at all. Reminds me of growing up. All of the girls believed that if you took an aspirin and drank a coke you could not get pregnant. Same kind of lunacy here.

[Yunla]

Tramadol can be bought from any drug store in Khon Kaen. I've even been OFFERED a variety of benzodiazepines and painkillers that are illegal. Like all laws in Thailand, they don't mean much.

In saying that, the drug that causes the most deaths/suffering in Thailand is advertised and no t controlled - alcohol.

The fruit and veg out here glows in the dark. Chemicals that are banned around the world are sprayed here at 300x the humandanger level, and then the veg is put on shelves and kids like this one in the OP will be eating it every night. Most people don't know or care about toxic chemicals that are sprayed, eaten or drank, be that from supermarket or pharmacy. Its really tragic and sad, and the chemicals in pills, food and drink, when imbibed by a mother, will go into the developing foetus and cause all kinds of permanent defects in the child before it even emerges into the world. All unregulated and governed by a 'these chemicals are cheap and so are you' anti-human philosophy. Meanwhile the politicians chat about Yinglucks hairstyle, and bringing back Thaksin.

[Traveling Sailor]

It is not drugs, it is a pain killer.

And these Thai kids seem to have a pain in their heads....

Well, it certainly is not from trying so hard to learn. Most Thai school children that I have interacted with have no ambition, no goals and no interest in learning. So sad!