Thai Justice Minister: ya ba should be excluded from list of narcotic drugs

[webfact]

Justice Minister: ya ba should be excluded from list of narcotic drugs



BANGKOK: -- The Justice Ministry has been consulting with relevant agencies about the proposal to exclude methamphetamine or Ya Ba from a list of narcotics drugs and to treat is a normal drug so as to convince drug addicts to come forward for treatment and rehabilitation.

Addressing a meeting today (Thursday) on direction and policy regarding worldwide narcotic problem, Justice Minister Paiboon Kumchaya said that after 28 years of waging war against narcotics drugs, the world has not succeeded in winning the war and more people are hooked to the drugs.

He said that several governments had started rethinking about how to “co-exist” with narcotic problem since they cannot win the war against drug abuses. He likened the drug abuse problem to a man suffering from incurable cancer with the doctor trying to figure out how to make the patient live with a certain degree of happiness with the cancer.

The justice minister said that he had been pushing for an overhaul of narcotics laws which seek to authorize the court to use its discretion to change the imprisonment for drug addicts so that they will be subjected to treatment and rehabilitation instead of incarceration.

He claimed that, in medical science, methamphitamines are less hazardous to health than cigarettes and liquor but the society at large accept cigarettes and liquor as normal.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/justice-minister-ya-ba-excluded-list-narcotic-drugs/

-- Thai PBS 2016-06-17

[Raymonddiaz]

OMG . I didn't see that coming.

[ukrules]

This is the same guy who introduced the 300 meter no alcohol zone near to schools / universities law, he also commented at the time that he would rather the no alcohol zone be 500 meters instead of 300.

They then backtracked and said 'near schools' instead of some arbitrary number of meters and since then pretty much nothing has been heard about the whole business at all.

Edited June 16, 2016 by ukrules

[ezzra]

Ok Mr. smarty pants minister, and while you at it, deregulate and exclude heroin, cocaine and all other dangers drugs

using the same common sense, and how about excluding all other crimes hoping that the all criminals

will see the error of their ways and become law abiding citizens again.....

[thesetat2013]

He must have gotten his information about the hazards of yaba from the medical council. Only they would give such misinformation saying yaba was less hazardous than cigarettes or alcohol. One has to wonder what drugs this guy is taking on a daily basis to make such a report.

[NongKhaiKid]

Ya Ba is big business and things here are not always what they seem.

I'll leave my comments at that.

Edited June 16, 2016 by NongKhaiKid

[jamesbrock]

Logic and (un)common sense from someone in Thai officialdom?

I'm staggered, and am very interested to see how he implements this.

[Sunderland]

Will someone please send the kids running the country back to the playpen. It's way past their bedtime.

[jamesbrock]

Drug decriminalization – alongside a serious investment in treatment and harm reduction services – has been proven to significantly improve public safety and health.

Of course, I am dubious of Thailand's ability to undertake the critical element of drug decriminalization – namely, a serious investment in treatment and harm reduction services.

I'll just leave these here...

• Drug Decriminalisation in Portugal: A Health-Centered Approach: http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/DPA_Fact_Sheet_Portugal_Decriminalization_Feb2015.pdf
• Portugal decriminalised drugs 14 years ago – and now hardly anyone dies from overdosing: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/portugal-decriminalised-drugs-14-years-ago-and-now-hardly-anyone-dies-from-overdosing-10301780.html

[aussieinthailand]

Well this is not a troll but an opinion but will probably get some action.

The addicted need to be treated as medical patients and treated. The dealers of yaba and hammer, (heroine) need to be treated the same way a previous Thai PM did a few years ago, dealers want to deal in death then go after them with out prejudice...

[arthurboy]

Ya Ba is big business and things here are not always what they seem.

I'll leave my comments at that.

I'll add to that.

In light of recent huge publicly reported ya ba drug busts, I guess the authorities have an enormous stockpile on their hands.

So given the vast number of users out there, the commercial principle of supply and demand springs to mind. Especially when it's always a buyers market...

[shirtless]

Most people dont realize amphetamine was sold in pharmacies here in the early 90s , There was no Yaba problem then.

[DrTuner]

Well, well. Wouldn't have thought Thais were one of the first to follow UNODC's thoughts. Might actually become a hub. Yaba the Hub.

Edited June 17, 2016 by DrTuner

[Strangebrew]

Look to stop the problem you must first address the hiso's supplying the product. Catch them first to stem the supply not with prison but death. The users put into drug rehab till clean reoffend death period.

[daoyai]

Decriminalization should start with kratom and ganja, the problem with meth is no sleeping for days,that makes the user dangerously crazy... then their teeth fall out. but hey, seeing that may be a good deterent.

[waldroj]

Paiboon might be on ya ba - would explain that obnoxious grin.

[tx22cb]

"seek to authorize the court to use its discretion to change the imprisonment for drug addicts so that they will be subjected to treatment and rehabilitation instead of incarceration"

Do the Thai authorities have facilities/funds for treatment and rehabilitation for thousands? No.

But if 'm rich and get caught, I will say to the judge "I will pay for my rehab, thank you very much ... (oh, I'll slip a little something for you & the police too)"

[LannaGuy]

top of the list should be marijuana which is being decriminalised worldwide and should be here

do we really have to wait 30 more years for Thailand to catch up?

[abitmiffed]

Clearly he should stop smoking that shit also.

Stupid is as stupid does.

[Bardeh]

As others have said, decriminalization and regulation have been proved to be very effective in countries like Portugal. However, for this to work you do need investment in treatment, therapy, and education. I can't see the Thai government doing that effectively, unfortunately, although I would love to be proved wrong.

I don't know why the general ThaiVisa stance on drugs seems to be 'lock them up and throw away the key' - that approach has been an absolute disaster everywhere, why not try something different?

Edited June 17, 2016 by Bardeh

[taony]

He probably owns a yaba factory.

[jossthaifarang]

JESUS!!

Maybe try with something a little more harmless like weed?

[Tatsujin]

Ya Ba is big business and things here are not always what they seem.

I'll leave my comments at that.

Great news, I'll be able to buy pseudoephedrine over the counter again soon then ... damn sinuses!

[anon467367354]

I don't think he said legalize it, just take it off the list of narcotics.

Amphetamines are not narcotics by definition.

[recycler]

Maybe they should just start with cannabis / kancha and see how that works.

I bet the real reason is that the use of yaba is so endemic that they have nowhere near the capacity to deal with it. If all users of yaba would be jailed the working population of Thailand would be slashed and they would have to turn a whole province in to a jail!

[manarak]

well, technically, meth isn't a narcotic. it's a psychotropic stimulant. so it should be on the list of banned psychotropic drugs, not on the banned narcotics list.

[pkspeaker]

i can't believe there is any real differences between the different drugs, whether its speed, cannibis, kratom leaves, alcohol, or psychedelics.. the notion that this drug is 'not that bad' and this one is 'really bad and habit forming' has never been supported by any definitive medical science, obviously if you use too much of any of them they become much worse than if you only used only a little of another one.. In the past some have tried to say that this one 'burns out braincells' and this one 'does not' that turned out to be junk science.

Edited June 17, 2016 by pkspeaker

[FourAces]

Ya Ba is big business and things here are not always what they seem.

I'll leave my comments at that.

Big words by the minister, however I am sure that a few Generals, Orborjors, puyais and other less prominent officials will have their noses out of joint, knowing that this may affect their main source of revenue.

[AlQaholic]

I just read a research report indicating that people who are or has been addicted to narcotics/drugs, also have a problem kicking other bad addictions such as smoking, drinking.....Conclusion may be that some of us are more susceptible to being addicted to any substance whereas other can easily or with little effort kick a bad habit.

Anything that are addictive and declared illegal history tells us it a bad idea, look at the US prohibition years as a good example, gangsta land. make anything legal and the plug goes out of the illegal network making a profit from it. Even restricting alcohol with high taxes and special shops for purchase made the moonshine a well known underground industry in Sweden and Finland during the 20th century, every home had their own still in the kitchen or garage.

There is only one way to deal with the drug problem, and that is to legalize it, but not just like that, there must be an extensive apparatus in place to care for addicts and rehabilitate. The root cause of addiction or becoming an addict can more easily be examined if the drugs are legal. when the CIA was experimenting with these drugs back in the days, they where legal, thank CIA for today's worldwide drug problems, as we can thank them for many other innovative thinks in the darkest recesses of society.

Edited June 17, 2016 by AlQaholic

[sanukjim]

So their jails are over filling with these druggies and the Justice Minister has no clue of how to stop it,so make it legal and save jail space.Oh Grand idea and next he can make ant thing do do with Heroin a misdemeanor,.saving even more space in the jail for the government political opponents.