Upper-middle class Bangkok is on drugs. Here's the why, how much and where.

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Upper-middle class Bangkok is on drugs. Here's the why, how much and where.

Bangkok:-- BK lifts the veil on the city’s dirty little secret: drugs are everywhere and the upper-middle class is no stranger to getting high.

Ice Ice Baby 28, sales person

When did it start?

I started using crystal meth when I was at a private university. All the girls were so pretty and I wanted to get skinny. My friends said that crystal meth would make you lose your appetite. I tried it and found it was true. Then I got addicted. I didn’t like cocaine—it hurt my nose. Ecstasy was pretty fun—though you would feel in love with anyone around you, you would hug them and get emotional in a happy, relaxing way.

How often did you do drugs?

Almost every day at home, more often during exam periods to help keep me up all night and to concentrate. If you’re partying, you party hard and, needing to study, it just helped me to stay focused. Afterwards, though, I suffered huge memory loss: I couldn’t find my keys, my phone, what I was studying... I would stay up for days and then I would just sleep for, like, two days straight.

Why did you quit?

My dad caught me. He noticed that I was acting weird, staying in my room, so he Googled the traits of a drug addict and every sign pointed to me. He took me to the hospital for a urine test. Of course, I didn’t pass. He was really upset and cried. I reduced my drug use after that but never really quit until I just realized it was time I should grow up and get a job.

"Of course, I didn't pass. He was really upset and cried"

Is it easy to get drugs?

It’s almost as easy as ordering a drink in a bar. You just notice anyone who’s inhaling ya dom (nasal inhaler)—that’s a sign he’s on ecstasy. Police won’t go into the popular bars—especially on RCA and Thonglor. They just don’t.

How much would you pay?

B3,000 for one gram.

The Cokehead 26, airline ground crew

Why did you do drugs?

It started with a party in a bar in the Ratchadamri area. I was just curious about what it was like to take drugs, then I got addicted to the fun of it. I usually do it a couple of times a week at parties.

Have you thought about quitting?

Every time I wake up after doing cocaine, I feel bad. It’s really unhealthy and exhausting. It's a waste of money, too, at around B2,500 for one gram. But when I’m with my friends, I just want to have the energy to have fun. It’s a really deep, unconscious thing. I think I’m addicted to the atmosphere, not the drug itself. I wouldn’t dare do ice—it’s just too dangerous.

"People in every industry are doing it, especially the ones who look really clean"

Do you worry about getting caught?

I never go get the drug myself. I always get it from a trustworthy friend and I don’t do it in front of strangers.

What do you think about drugs and the law?

The law is sloppy. For me, it’s easy to say that many people in every industry are doing it, especially the ones who look really clean. It’s everywhere.

Everything Ecstatic 27, business owner

What’s the effect of ecstasy?

I started when I was 20. When I take ecstasy, I feel so chilled, drunk, blurred, pleased. Sometimes I just like to look at the light. The feeling lasts for a couple hours if you get the good stuff. But if not, I just take ketamine (B1,500-B3,500 for a bottle) together with the E (ecstasy) to keep me high. It’s got an anesthetic effect and will get you really high; out of this world. You can’t see or walk well. Driving is impossible. Sometimes, your eyes just bulge. It’s really out of control.

Where do you usually buy it?

Friends. It used to be common to get it from a waiter or waitress. Mostly now it’s other partygoers. Sometimes they just come ask me or you can tell from the ones inhaling ya dom (nasal inhaler). They’ll sell it from B500-B1,200 depending on quality. You have to check the color or the texture of the pill. And at these upscale bars that are filled with rich kids, like in RCA or Sukhumvit, I think they’ve already paid off the cops.

Why ecstasy?

Cocaine is too expensive as sometimes it goes for up to B5,000 a gram. And I don’t want to buy the cheap stuff. Too much baking soda and your nose will bleed.

Do you have any friends who are really out of control?

A few. One of them is really off—depressed and hallucinating. She says she sees ghosts all the time. Another one is in shock and another one on ketamine keeps saying he’s a god. I’m trying to limit myself. Too much ketamine is dangerous.

Do you want to quit?

Yes. I fear that my brain will be damaged, but every time my friends ask, I just can’t help it. It’s a social thing. I’m a bit better now, actually. If you talked to me before, I was a bit lost. I never knew where I kept anything. Now I’ve learned that I need to sleep and eat well after taking drugs.

"One of them is really off—depressed and hallucinating and another one on ketamine keeps saying he's a god"

Have you ever been caught?

By my dad, yes. My friends came over and started to get really high and too cheerful. My dad caught on. He took me to the hospital for a urine test. He didn’t blame me or my friends; instead, he strangely thought it was my pee chong (Chinese belief in bad luck year) and took me to various temples.

Any new drugs you've spotted recently?

Lately, I’ve seen many people using Five-Five, which is a sleeping pill. It will calm you down and get you not too high. It’s a nightmare in the world of drugs—I have some friends taking whole packs of Xanax (medication for anxiety) and LSD that comes on a stamp. It’s quite hardcore, though probably less so than heroin. Pure hallucination. It’s expensive, too, at B8,000 for four stamps. Others are using an anesthetic spray that’s for football players. It’s a crazy nightmare.

Source: BK Magazine - Read the rest of the article here.

[OxfordWill]

Unfortunately I think those numbers are conservative! I do wonder where it's all heading. Maybe another Thaksin style clampdown? We have started to see clips of psychosis on the news again- I saw one on Sukhumvit with a man and his wife behind a knife was reported last month. But I cant find the link now.

No babies on rooftops recently, thankfully.

Possibly society will regulate itself, the majority do not end up as fiends, even if they act like it for 2 years at some stage in their 20s. But the true cost isn't estimable yet and I think it could potentially be a social disaster.

[londonthai]

now we know, why suthep is able to keep up on the streets for the last century

[Thainess]

Who cares?

[Josh88]

I'm glad to see the massive war on drugs in Thailand has been effective. When are governments going to learn that prohibition just doesn't work?

[IamNoone88]

It is a simple supply and demand and until that cycle is stopped by the user demand, then sadly, more lives will be wasted and more families subjected to the heartache that drugs inflicts.

[recycler]

This is only about upper middle class BKK. I know from personal observation that there is a lot of drug use among youth in the poorer regions and factory workers all over Thailand.

Substance abuse, alcohol and drugs is a giant problem in Thailand, much bigger than the article describes!

[HooHaa]

what they dont tell you is that thaksins war on drugs and purachai's nightlife crack down basically wiped out ecstasy use though they likely thought it was yaa baa.

ecstacy was very common and very readily viable here in the late 90's early 2000's, and ketamine was around in force as well. Ecstasy was available for sub 500 baht per pill.

with the crackdown on yaa baa, ketamine and ecstasy which was being dealt mostly to upper-middle class thais and openly consumed at places like deeper (later dp 2000), narcissus (now narz and still rife)started to fade in availability and grow in price.

The void in the market was soon filled by non-thai sources which did not have ecstasy but rather cocaine and cocaine grew rapidly in popularity to the point where it can now be delivered within the hour after one phone call. Ice came later.

Ecstasy remained a fringe drug, but is now slowly coming back into vogue, but is still not as readily available unless you have a specific connection, ketamine is much the same.

so we have come full circle since thaksin's war on drugs, which served the sole purpose of bringing new drugs to an old established market.

or so im told ....

Edited March 14, 2014 by HooHaa

[tbailo]

The thing that surprises me is the total lack of education about drugs across all levels of society. I know many girls at university or graduates that smoke ice or have smoked ice to keep slim or to help them stay awake to cram for exams but if you talked to them about people smoking weed in the UK they are shocked and talk about how bad kanchaaa is.

I don't think I ever met anyone in the UK who had smoked Ice - it's treated here like a recreational drug and they don't seem to have any idea of the long term consequences.

[Cylon]

I think most drivers in Thailand are on drugs, they drive like <deleted> maniacs

[pookiki]

Of all the drugs mentioned here, methamphetamine, in pill or crystal form, is the biggest scourge across all income levels. Sleep deprivation, hallucinations, long term brain damage from sustained use. And it isn't only in Thailand. In SE Asia, Myanmar is the largest producer. Most of it in labs in Shan State controlled by the ethnic Wa. The Wa, nect to the Myanmar government, has the largest standing army in Myanmar. Myanmar is responsible for the drugs coming into Thailand and most of SE Asia. Opium and heroin, too. If there is going to be another drug war, it should be directed against the Wa. Asia's youth is at risk.

[empireboy]

So you have two choices... 1) decide for yourself what you want. 2) let someone do it for you

[kkup]

I don't doubt the numbers but the person that made up the interview could of made it sound realistic. It sounds more like someone regurgitating what they read in a magazine.

[Mudcrab]

what they dont tell you is that thaksins war on drugs and purachai's nightlife crack down basically wiped out ecstasy use though they likely thought it was yaa baa.

ecstacy was very common and very readily viable here in the late 90's early 2000's, and ketamine was around in force as well. Ecstasy was available for sub 500 baht per pill.

with the crackdown on yaa baa, ketamine and ecstasy which was being dealt mostly to upper-middle class thais and openly consumed at places like deeper (later dp 2000), narcissus (now narz and still rife)started to fade in availability and grow in price.

The void in the market was soon filled by non-thai sources which did not have ecstasy but rather cocaine and cocaine grew rapidly in popularity to the point where it can now be delivered within the hour after one phone call. Ice came later.

Ecstasy remained a fringe drug, but is now slowly coming back into vogue, but is still not as readily available unless you have a specific connection, ketamine is much the same.

so we have come full circle since thaksin's war on drugs, which served the sole purpose of bringing new drugs to an old established market.

or so im told ....

well before that Thailand was known for the supply of good quality weed.We called them Buddha sticks in those days........coincidentally Thailand was also the Real Land of Smiles back then. maybe we need to re-learn a few things

[Mudcrab]

Of all the drugs mentioned here, methamphetamine, in pill or crystal form, is the biggest scourge across all income levels. Sleep deprivation, hallucinations, long term brain damage from sustained use. And it isn't only in Thailand. In SE Asia, Myanmar is the largest producer. Most of it in labs in Shan State controlled by the ethnic Wa. The Wa, nect to the Myanmar government, has the largest standing army in Myanmar. Myanmar is responsible for the drugs coming into Thailand and most of SE Asia. Opium and heroin, too. If there is going to be another drug war, it should be directed against the Wa. Asia's youth is at risk.

Please tell us more about the Wa

[andyko]

bless my drinking addiction. can always stop tomorrow

[Benmart]

bless my drinking addiction. can always stop tomorrow

Addiction:

: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.

Good luck with your addiction.

[DLP]

bless my drinking addiction. can always stop tomorrow

Addiction:

: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.

Good luck with your addiction.

If you can stop tomorrow then i would not class that as an addiction

[richard peters]

Sadly, I have a son, who is a long term addict and has just wasted his life, when he was ready for a very sucessful military career. I do not blame him, but rather the break up of my marraige, where the children are the ones who suffer most. The ultimate truth is that you cannot cure an addict unless they decide to make a concerted effort to give up their addiction.

[thailandbeachisland]

IF only weed was legal here as in US now <3

[Dave 74]

None are worse than alcohol.

[razer]

What rubbish. Did the writer of this piece make up these abstract confessions?

[Arjay]

With all Thailand's problems lately what do you expect?

[HardenedSoul]

If people wanna get high, let 'em get high.

Save the money spent fighting the "war on drugs" and divert it to a "war on ignorance" about drugs.

[diehard60]

Got to admit thaksin has a good way to handle this,

[ezzra]

How can you fight and eliminate this problem when almost every vendor on the streets,

from food and merchandise sellers to guards petrol pump attended and motorcycle taxi

keep couple of tablets on them for resale? mark my words, this problem is here to stay,

and as long as the money associated with it is easy and good so the market will continue

to flourish...

[Aussie Paul]

Got to admit thaksin has a good way to handle this,

Somewhat ironic comment given that the Chinawat family made their initial fortune from 'cross-border trade with Burma'. There was only one currency in them thar hills: either brown and sticky, or white and powdery.

[Ulysses G.]

well before that Thailand was known for the supply of good quality weed.We called them Buddha sticks in those days........coincidentally Thailand was also the Real Land of Smiles back then. maybe we need to re-learn a few things

A woman that I know and trust was in the business. She says that the weed was never that good. It was the opium it was dipped in that made it so enjoyable.

[MaxYakov]

I'm glad to see the massive war on drugs in Thailand has been effective. When are governments going to learn that prohibition just doesn't work?

When are governments going to learn ANYTHING?

[recycler]

Of all the drugs mentioned here, methamphetamine, in pill or crystal form, is the biggest scourge across all income levels. Sleep deprivation, hallucinations, long term brain damage from sustained use. And it isn't only in Thailand. In SE Asia, Myanmar is the largest producer. Most of it in labs in Shan State controlled by the ethnic Wa. The Wa, nect to the Myanmar government, has the largest standing army in Myanmar. Myanmar is responsible for the drugs coming into Thailand and most of SE Asia. Opium and heroin, too. If there is going to be another drug war, it should be directed against the Wa. Asia's youth is at risk.

To me it looks like Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have less of a problem of substance abuse. The recently published figures of alcohol use where Thailand tops Asia could be indicative.