Soaring prison population prompts Thailand to re-think 'lost' drug war

[thai3]

Giving a Dutchman over 100 years for 'drug' offences that were not even offences in the country he lived in hardly helps the situation does it.

[thai3]

Drug additciont is not a crime its is a disease Treat it like a disease

Not this nonsense again, it is not a disease you do not catch addiction, so you cannot treat is like something it's not. Taking responsibility for your own actions and weakness is the first step, not throwing up your hands and claiming, not my fault it's a disease

Edited July 18, 2016 by thai3

[hansnl]

Giving a Dutchman over 100 years for 'drug' offences that were not even offences in the country he lived in hardly helps the situation does it.

Exactly.

And this while the prosecution in Holland could not build a case, and out of spite told the Thai prosecutor the man was whitewashing money......

[dcnx]

The son of a Thai lady on our street had HIV. While he was getting medicine, it made him very ill so someone reccomended smoking marijuana to him to ease his bad feelings. So he did and sure enough, it helped him with the side effects of the medication and he was a function human being again.

Then he was caught up in a transaction and was arrested with a paltry amount of marijuana. He was given an incredibly long time in prison, but died after a couple of years in prison due to proper medical care when his HIV turned to full blown AIDS.

Such a tragic story. Oh, I should add he caught HIV from a blood transfusion as a child. He wasn't a bad person, dealer, addict, prostitute, or criminal. He was just a normal guy trying to live with his condition the best he could.

Then I read over and over about rich kids killing people and walking free, buying their way out of such a mess, while people rot in a cell, and in this case, die, for having a few joints.

[dcnx]

Giving a Dutchman over 100 years for 'drug' offences that were not even offences in the country he lived in hardly helps the situation does it.

I know a guy who had a long layover in Amsterdam on his way here. Of course he hit the cafe, smoked a little LEGALLY, and then made his way to Thailand.

A few days later he was caught in a road side 4am pee test in Pattaya where he failed due to his smoke in Amsterdam.

A miserable night in a Pattaya cell and 50,000b later, he was sent on his way.

Didn't do a dang thing wrong in Thailand.

[spidermike007]

The war on drugs has been an abysmal failure worldwide. Countries like Norway, and Portugal, who devote little or any resources to drug convictions, show no increased signs of drug usage among the population. Countries like the US, that spend a fortune on this silly war, have epidemics, and spend billions housing over 2 million people, a ridiculous number. Thailand should consider legalization of drugs. They are being used anyway. In my opinion the allure of drug usage drops once it is legal. Drug usage will drop. Maybe not all drugs. But, certainly the less heinous ones could be legalized. It is a silly war. One that does not need to be fought.

(Cost Effectiveness of Prison Compared With Treatment) "Substance-involved people have come to compose a large portion of the prison population. Substance use may play a role in the commission of certain crimes: approximately 16 percent of people in state prison and 18 percent of people in federal prison reported committing their crimes to obtain money for drugs.21 Treatment delivered in the community is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent such crimes and costs approximately $20,000 less than incarceration per person per year.22 A study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy found that every dollar spent on drug treatment in the community yields over $18 in cost savings related to crime.23 In comparison, prisons only yield $.37 in public safety benefit per dollar spent. Releasing people to supervision and making treatment accessible is an effective way of reducing problematic drug use, reducing crime associated with drug use and reducing the number of people in prison."

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Prisons_and_Drugs#sthash.hQOc9JyM.dpbs

(US Drug Prisoners) "The United States leads the world in the number of people incarcerated in federal and state correctional facilities. There are currently more than 2 million people in American prisons or jails. Approximately one-quarter of those people held in U.S. prisons or jails have been convicted of a drug offense. The United States incarcerates more people for drug offenses than any other country. With an estimated 6.8 million Americans struggling with drug abuse or dependence, the growth of the prison population continues to be driven largely by incarceration for drug offenses."

[hansnl]

The son of a Thai lady on our street had HIV. While he was getting medicine, it made him very ill so someone reccomended smoking marijuana to him to ease his bad feelings. So he did and sure enough, it helped him with the side effects of the medication and he was a function human being again.

Then he was caught up in a transaction and was arrested with a paltry amount of marijuana. He was given an incredibly long time in prison, but died after a couple of years in prison due to proper medical care when his HIV turned to full blown AIDS.

Such a tragic story. Oh, I should add he caught HIV from a blood transfusion as a child. He wasn't a bad person, dealer, addict, prostitute, or criminal. He was just a normal guy trying to live with his condition the best he could.

Then I read over and over about rich kids killing people and walking free, buying their way out of such a mess, while people rot in a cell, and in this case, die, for having a few joints.

My friend has cancer.

Hash oil, marijuana HTC in oil, is very beneficial against pain and in some cases works against the cancer.

It was advised by a specialised doctor in Amsterdam Cancer Centre, to start using it.

But as he is in Thailand.......

[recycler]

From all countries I've been Thailand with it's very strict laws on drugs has the most abundant substance abuse that I have ever seen!

It's endemic, not just drugs, also alcohol, glue and combinations of all.

The causes are multiple, starting with the same authorities that should enforce the laws being heavily involved in distribution of drugs.

Furthermore the causes are cultural, educational and socially and laws won't do the job this is deeply rooted in a lawless and a-social society.

[sanukjim]

Says it all really

I guess that it was selective omission that you left out the many ,many graves of "Deaths From Drugs" to include not just the over doce and the killings as a results of..Oh Yes "figures don't lie" but " LIERS can figure",,,,like you ?

Edited July 18, 2016 by sanukjim

[JAG]

I would like to see the evidence that it is so bad. its heavily used by the worlds air forces, they seem happy to supply their members with this drug so their should be some kind of medical evidence available, and also a variation is used by school kids in a pretty big way. strange the way this drug is supposed to be so bad yet governments hand it out for free to a lot of people.

Heavily used by the world's air forces?

I do hope not, all those heavily armed aircraft beetling around the skies, their pilots stoned out of their minds - how disconcerting!

[SOTIRIOS]

...time to wake up.....

...society as a whole...obviously......

...and isn't it common knowledge that there are more convicted criminals walking the streets than in prison anyway .....???

[GOLDBUGGY]

I think money spent on educating students at an early age to the harms of drugs can go farther than building more prisons. Show some real graphics along with some hard talk about a difficult subject. Show them what harm it does and how it destroys families. Show them what life is like in Prison. Talk to them like adults and if need be, scare the "H" out of them.

[PremiumLane]

Ten year ago, they started the war on drug traffickers. When they locked 100 + men in a 40 foot trailer on Friday afternoon( 45-55 degrees); and

came back to open it Monday morning. It sent a message to the drug dealer ( Death ). i think that 2,000 people died over a 2 year span.

Same as Indonesia. Drug dealers = Death.

And yet drugs are still a problem, so that worked out so well, didn't it?

The only people who die in these dumb crackdowns are low level dealers and mules i.e. poor people

War on drugs is a joke

[Wilsonandson]

Edited July 18, 2016 by Wilsonandson

[Wilsonandson]

May I suggest those interested in the Meth or Ice industry here in Thailand watch this enlightening documentary by the National Geographic Channel on youtube.

Type in:-

drugs inc bangkok ice

[useronthenet]

Perhaps you could put them to good use, working outside the prison, cleaning the streets, and doing work for the local community (under supervision of course) etc.

[NickJ]

I think Boot Camps and very hard labour are the answer. Not just sitting around a yard all day. Reclaim some swamp land.

[DeaconJohn]

I think money spent on educating students at an early age to the harms of drugs can go farther than building more prisons. Show some real graphics along with some hard talk about a difficult subject. Show them what harm it does and how it destroys families. Show them what life is like in Prison. Talk to them like adults and if need be, scare the "H" out of them.

Force them to watch the old classic ​Reefer Madness. ​

That'll teach 'em.

​

[sanukjim]

I would like to see the evidence that it is so bad. its heavily used by the worlds air forces, they seem happy to supply their members with this drug so their should be some kind of medical evidence available, and also a variation is used by school kids in a pretty big way. strange the way this drug is supposed to be so bad yet governments hand it out for free to a lot of people.

What an utterly STUPID statement.You say air force pilots use drugs to fly? Man how utterly DUMB are you.Governments hand it out? Wow where did you go to school that you must have slept through?

[ozyjon]

Just follow the US lead,

privatize the jails, convert old unused buildings

into jails, many in Pattaya overlooking the ocean.

[dcnx]

The son of a Thai lady on our street had HIV. While he was getting medicine, it made him very ill so someone reccomended smoking marijuana to him to ease his bad feelings. So he did and sure enough, it helped him with the side effects of the medication and he was a function human being again.

Then he was caught up in a transaction and was arrested with a paltry amount of marijuana. He was given an incredibly long time in prison, but died after a couple of years in prison due to proper medical care when his HIV turned to full blown AIDS.

Such a tragic story. Oh, I should add he caught HIV from a blood transfusion as a child. He wasn't a bad person, dealer, addict, prostitute, or criminal. He was just a normal guy trying to live with his condition the best he could.

Then I read over and over about rich kids killing people and walking free, buying their way out of such a mess, while people rot in a cell, and in this case, die, for having a few joints.

My friend has cancer.

Hash oil, marijuana HTC in oil, is very beneficial against pain and in some cases works against the cancer.

It was advised by a specialised doctor in Amsterdam Cancer Centre, to start using it.

But as he is in Thailand.......

Exactly. Risks dying in prison.

[nausea]

Nobody's learnt anything from prohibition it seems. Taking a few of the innocent guys and gals, who were set up, out of prison, might help (Lady Kai springs to mind). Just regulate it. Too many vested interests, I suppose. Bit like the arms trade - do we have an arms trsde because of the wars, or do we have wars because of the arms trade. Go figure

[hansnl]

Just follow the US lead,

privatize the jails, convert old unused buildings

into jails, many in Pattaya overlooking the ocean.

Exactly the lead not to follow......

[spidermike007]

The son of a Thai lady on our street had HIV. While he was getting medicine, it made him very ill so someone reccomended smoking marijuana to him to ease his bad feelings. So he did and sure enough, it helped him with the side effects of the medication and he was a function human being again.

Then he was caught up in a transaction and was arrested with a paltry amount of marijuana. He was given an incredibly long time in prison, but died after a couple of years in prison due to proper medical care when his HIV turned to full blown AIDS.

Such a tragic story. Oh, I should add he caught HIV from a blood transfusion as a child. He wasn't a bad person, dealer, addict, prostitute, or criminal. He was just a normal guy trying to live with his condition the best he could.

Then I read over and over about rich kids killing people and walking free, buying their way out of such a mess, while people rot in a cell, and in this case, die, for having a few joints.

My friend has cancer.

Hash oil, marijuana HTC in oil, is very beneficial against pain and in some cases works against the cancer.

It was advised by a specialised doctor in Amsterdam Cancer Centre, to start using it.

But as he is in Thailand.......

Imprisoning someone for the personal use of THC, marijuana, hash, or any sort of low level drug of this sort is the absolute zenith of stupidity and ignorance, on the part of any society. It is a stunning waste of resources, and human lives. It is proof that we have barely evolved as a society. Both the laws in Thailand and the federal laws in the US (which completely ignore the will of the people, and the fact that it is legal in many states now) are in drastic need of revision, with regard to minor drugs. And having smoked for many years, quite some time ago, I can tell you this class of drugs is completely harmless. They are not "gateway" drugs, as many ignorant people claim. And the only harm they do is to destroy ambition, and lower the IQ a few points. That is it. They are far safer than alcohol, and do the body far less harm.

I heard many stories while living in Samui, of people being extorted for using pot on Koh Phangan. Many were pressured into paying up to 100,000 baht for having a few joints, or buying from the wrong guy. This is wrong. Everything about it stinks. Especially the low level dirty cops. It all stinks.

[Mudcrab]

Giving a Dutchman over 100 years for 'drug' offences that were not even offences in the country he lived in hardly helps the situation does it.

I know a guy who had a long layover in Amsterdam on his way here. Of course he hit the cafe, smoked a little LEGALLY, and then made his way to Thailand.

A few days later he was caught in a road side 4am pee test in Pattaya where he failed due to his smoke in Amsterdam.

A miserable night in a Pattaya cell and 50,000b later, he was sent on his way.

Didn't do a dang thing wrong in Thailand.

He did.

He failed the test.

users should make themselves aware of local regulations

Perhaps he may have sampled something else while he was here as well? I doubt if THC would show up in a urine test after 4 days.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I would like to see the evidence that it is so bad. its heavily used by the worlds air forces, they seem happy to supply their members with this drug so their should be some kind of medical evidence available, and also a variation is used by school kids in a pretty big way. strange the way this drug is supposed to be so bad yet governments hand it out for free to a lot of people.

What an utterly STUPID statement.You say air force pilots use drugs to fly? Man how utterly DUMB are you.Governments hand it out? Wow where did you go to school that you must have slept through?

Airforce pilots do use performance enhancing drugs on critical combat missions. They need to stay sharp and hit the target. Flying a B2 bomber from some base in the USA all the way to Baghdad. Vulcans from the UK nonstop to the Falklands, drop the bombs and fly home. There are probably loads of instances where the pilots can get a gain. These drugs are probably illegal if bought in the street.

Kids with ADHD get prescribed speed (Ritalin) legally by the local doctor. Go searching for speed on a Saturday night and it's illegal narcotic. I am not very knowledgable about the drug world but you get the jist.

[hanuman2543]

Giving a Dutchman over 100 years for 'drug' offences that were not even offences in the country he lived in hardly helps the situation does it.

I know a guy who had a long layover in Amsterdam on his way here. Of course he hit the cafe, smoked a little LEGALLY, and then made his way to Thailand.

A few days later he was caught in a road side 4am pee test in Pattaya where he failed due to his smoke in Amsterdam.

A miserable night in a Pattaya cell and 50,000b later, he was sent on his way.

Didn't do a dang thing wrong in Thailand.

He did.

He failed the test.

users should make themselves aware of local regulations

Perhaps he may have sampled something else while he was here as well? I doubt if THC would show up in a urine test after 4 days.

Even one time smoking will make a test positive for about 7-10 days, if you smoke more frequently up to 4 weeks.