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

[soalbundy]

That is the saddest article i have read for a long time. Its disgusting,many parents pay a small fortune to send their children to university and get a drug addict back. I feel joy every time i read that a drug dealer has been shot dead,no mercy for drug dealers and a five year minimum sentence for drug users in a special rehab prison would do the trick,it would push the price up no end and make it unavailable.

I think there are people in power making a lot of money out of the misery of others........a mandatory death sentence no matter who they are.

[BigC]

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.

Yarp is there is a demand then no matter what the penalty is there shall be a supplier with anything not just drugs

All that making things illegal does is push those items into the black market as there is demand

Guns are illegal in England but u can still get one to protect yourself

If your life is in serious threat then short of in self defence with an unlicensed gun is still

Better than dying as when u r dead u cannot fight it out in court plus you could also save toe family

[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.

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

I've not yet been gifted or educated to be able to class anyone's condition based on a posting or otherwise.

The poster said he was addicted. The definition, which is one of many, lays a rough road ahead for anyone addicted according to that definition.

[sam sen]

an upper middle class thai working as a sales person or airline ground crew?

[Benmart]

That is the saddest article i have read for a long time. Its disgusting,many parents pay a small fortune to send their children to university and get a drug addict back. I feel joy every time i read that a drug dealer has been shot dead,no mercy for drug dealers and a five year minimum sentence for drug users in a special rehab prison would do the trick,it would push the price up no end and make it unavailable.

I think there are people in power making a lot of money out of the misery of others........a mandatory death sentence no matter who they are.

Joy at the violent death of another, however low the recipient, is not joy as I know it.

A five year minimum sentence for drugs users? Why not 10 or 20? Who decides? Which drug, how much, what age limit? Where to warehouse all these people? Who pays for the courts, police, jails, prisons, etc?

Death sentence for people in power...? Who are they? What positions of power would qualify?

Once the drugs problem is corrected following your formular, then perhaps we can move on to other categories such as rapists, arsonists, sex criminals, etc. Let there be no end to the gratuitous housecleaning.

It's a thought that is chilling.

[CaptHaddock]

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

Because it worked so well the last time, right?

[Krataiboy]

What saddens me is that so many people - mainly youngsters - need drugs to get a "high". I am 75 and I am "high" a great deal of the time on all the wonderful things around me - nature, kids having fun, beautiful food and, yes, the occasional glass of something nice to go with it, watching sports, good movies, reading books and playing my keyboard or harmonica,taking leisurely walks or bike rides in the cool of the early evening.

But most of all my "high" comes from my family and seeing them, particularly my sunny six-year-old daughter,growing like lovely flowers into adulthood. Mercifully, none of them seems to have the slightest interest in cigarettes or alcohol, let alone the other mind-bending and potentially damaging substances around. Thank goodness (I won't say "Thank God" because I don't need to believe in some imaginary creator to be happy and fulfilled).

I understand how somebody who is chronically depressed might turn to drugs to blot out the bad feelings. As a young man I sometimes drowned my sorrows with alcohol - but always found this made things worse rather than better, so I stopped being silly.

I hope I am not going to sound condescending or patronising when I say I really do feel sorry for addicts - and their loved ones - whose lives are blighted by addiction to drugs or alcohol (I've known a few in my time). But I do feel it is largely a generational and "lifestyle" problem.

In my day, nobody sat in the house fiddling with electronic gadgets all day. The great outdoors - fishing, cycling, playing football in winter and cricket in summer - kept us fit and happy and out of mischief. Of course, drugs were not widespread then, but booze was and few of us got hooked. The family unit and the community at large seemed much stronger then and combined to help keep us on the straight and narrow.

The "selfie" is a symptom,if ever there was one, of the narcissm and self-absorption which seems to typify the attitude of so many young people these days. So many seem to want nothing more than to lock themselves away in a room with their computers, I-phones and other electronic gadgets.

But virtual reality can never be for the real world and real human contact.Those who believe otherwise are most likely to end up needing expensive substances to get them the high that others experience for nothing.

Next time you are feeling low and need a high try this:

Take a walk, breathe deeply and marvel at the privilege of living on what may be the only planet in the universe with oxygen enough to support life. Look up at that blue sky and those flying clouds and appreciate their natural beauty. Play some great music. Dip into a Booker prizewinning book. Wander around a beautiful church or wat. Listen to the birdsong. Smell a flower. Kiss a baby.

Now tell me you need drugs to get high. If so, you don't need to get a drug. You need to get a life.

[soalbundy]

That is the saddest article i have read for a long time. Its disgusting,many parents pay a small fortune to send their children to university and get a drug addict back. I feel joy every time i read that a drug dealer has been shot dead,no mercy for drug dealers and a five year minimum sentence for drug users in a special rehab prison would do the trick,it would push the price up no end and make it unavailable.

I think there are people in power making a lot of money out of the misery of others........a mandatory death sentence no matter who they are.

Joy at the violent death of another, however low the recipient, is not joy as I know it.

A five year minimum sentence for drugs users? Why not 10 or 20? Who decides? Which drug, how much, what age limit? Where to warehouse all these people? Who pays for the courts, police, jails, prisons, etc?

Death sentence for people in power...? Who are they? What positions of power would qualify?

Once the drugs problem is corrected following your formular, then perhaps we can move on to other categories such as rapists, arsonists, sex criminals, etc. Let there be no end to the gratuitous housecleaning.

It's a thought that is chilling.

Its my opinion and i'm sticking with it. Some years back the police had a black list of people in power ( untouchables ) who dealt in drugs big time,"they were warned" no arrests no trials nothing. I didn't advocate moving the goal posts for other categories nor for extra judicial killings. As for the cost,courts ,prisons,etc. what is the cost of rampant drug misuse costing the country now? Joy at the killing of a drug dealer.......oh yes,rather this piece of garbage goes down than one of my children.

[HeavyDrinker]

The main article reads like one of Stickman's made up escort 'interviews'

[sawadee1947]

...who wonders? Look at SUTHEP and companions..! Of course they are on drugs, hahahaha

[HardenedSoul]

I feel joy every time i read that a drug dealer has been shot dead,no mercy for drug dealers and a five year minimum sentence for drug users in a special rehab prison would do the trick,it would push the price up no end and make it unavailable.

I think there are people in power making a lot of money out of the misery of others........a mandatory death sentence no matter who they are.

What an idiotic post

Edited March 15, 2014 by HardenedSoul

[connda]

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?

I have to disagree. Their massive "War on Drugs' is very effective. I went to drug store to get a pack of Pseudoephedrine to get some relief from nasal congestion only to find out it's freaking illegal. Gotta go to a hospital, talk to a doctor, get a prescription and generally clog up the already overcrowded hospital system. The gubberment is afraid that I'm going to take my 10 Pseudoephedrine tablets and brew up a batch of yaa baa. Talk about overkill and complete stupidity. Now I have 30 tablets when all I wanted was 10. Go figure.

[rwdrwdrwd]

That is the saddest article i have read for a long time. Its disgusting,many parents pay a small fortune to send their children to university and get a drug addict back. I feel joy every time i read that a drug dealer has been shot dead,no mercy for drug dealers and a five year minimum sentence for drug users in a special rehab prison would do the trick,it would push the price up no end and make it unavailable.

I think there are people in power making a lot of money out of the misery of others........a mandatory death sentence no matter who they are.

The place that matches your suggestion most is Saudi Arabia. I wouldn't like to live there personally.

The world has a few more shades of grey, for example bearing in mind that different drugs are legal in different places, when you refer to 'drugs' are you:

A - Aggregating all drugs considered illegal somewhere in the world

B - Referring to the specific subset that is forbidden in the jurisdiction where consumption occurs

C - Making an personal judgement about what drugs count

A and B would include alcohol, in the first case worldwide, and in the second in a number of countries

B - It's perfectly fine to stand in Uruguay and smoke weed without a prescription, as it is in Colorado, USA. Likewise it is legal to have a gram of cocaine in Colombia for personal use, and in Mexico small amounts of Coke, Heroin, Meth and LSD as well as weed are decriminalised. My point is, given the disparity between jurisdictions, a hard and fast 5 year imprisonment for possession of any illicit (in that jurisdiction) substance is a very black and white stance, and places an awful lot of faith in the state.

C - This is akin to stating that you simply don't like some drugs, which is fine, but surfaces the aspect that everybody else has their opinion on what is ok or not.

I'm anticipating a B, and a 'this is Thailand, so all drugs that are illegal in Thailand', but my issue with this is that it places pure faith in the state. For example, if Thailand were to follow Saudi Arabia's ruleset, would you be equally happy to see drinkers imprisoned?

[Thai at Heart]

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.

I've heard this.from a lot of people. Any books with details?

[Thainess]

How can you tell if a Bangkokian is upper middle class? They insist on eating their KFC with a knife and fork instead of their bare hands, unless it's a take-out.

[fasteddie]

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

Ah yes! the Thaksin way, slaughter people without trial, worked a treat, Thailand is now completely free of drugs.

Still, always good to hear from the sub-intelligentsia.

[wump]

From the article:

Kanlaya Jetpattananon, General Physician:

"Marijuana causes hallucinations and makes the user feel energized, but after waking up, you’ll feel lethargic and sleepy."

[connda]

From the article:

Kanlaya Jetpattananon, General Physician:

"Marijuana causes hallucinations and makes the user feel energized, but after waking up, you’ll feel lethargic and sleepy."

I wonder what his source is? The movie, "Reefer Madness"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reefer_Madness

[Ulysses G.]

I feel feel even more lethargic, sleepy and hungry than normal while I am high. That is why I had to give it up.

[turgid]

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.

I say this as an Atheist but if you look at Africa the Muslim countries have a lot less HIV and drug problems. There is sadly a strong argument that in the absence of decent health care and education, the discipline and structure of certain religions helps at keeping the majority alive and breeding. Keep that up for a couple of generations while the people who dont accept god fall by the wayside and suddenly you have "proof" that your way is the best and backed by a higher power. Of course facisim and communism can do the same thing.

Edited March 22, 2014 by turgid

[thailandbeachisland]

Governments fighting drugs that should be legal are just full of retarded monkeys and I have no respect for that kind of cops who should have a respectable job !