YaBa to be taken off dangerous illicit narcotics list
Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya has proposed that ya ba (methamphetamines) be taken off the dangerous illicit narcotics list and put under the normal drugs category as current measures to suppress the drugs have failed.
However, if and when the drugs are to be taken off the list, all agencies will have to work out measures to ensure that the distribution, sale and use of the drugs are strictly controlled, Gen Paiboon said.
He made the proposal Wednesday at a meeting which discussed the results of the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS), adapting the recommendations to deal with drug problems in Thailand. The Supreme Court president Veerapol Tungsuwan was a speaker at the meeting and he echoed Gen Paiboon's opinion.
Addressing the meeting.....
Regime favours ending war on methamphetamine
Thailand considering legalising CRYSTAL METH
Thailand considering legalising CRYSTAL METH as ruling junta's general admits the world has lost the war on drugs
Justice minister Paiboon Koomchaya said current approach had failed
Claimed meth, or ya ba, was less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes
Military junta has previously favoured a zero-tolerance policy to drugs
Thailand is considering legalising meth as the country's justice minister admits they have lost the war on drugs.
Paiboon Koomchaya suggested the highly addictive methamphetamine, known as ya ba in Thailand, should be taken off the dangerous drugs list because it is 'less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes'.
It signals an about turn in policy for the country's military junta, which has previously favoured a zero-tolerance policy, with harsh jail sentences.
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Paiboon Koomchaya suggested the highly addictive drug, known as ya ba in Thailand, should be taken off the dangerous drugs list because it is 'less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes'
But speaking on Wednesday, Koomchaya said the current approach was not working, the Bangkok Post reported.
'The world has now surrendered to drugs, and has come to think of how to live with drugs,' he said.
'It is like a man suffering from cancer and having no cure and he has to live a happy life with the cancer.'
Any legalisation of crystal meth would have to be carefully considered and controlled, Koomchaya added.
But his words were met with caution by Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, secretary general of the Duang Prateep Foundation, the Post reported, who said it would increase the number of users.
Thailand is already struggling under the weight of its drug problem.
Two years ago, Koomchaya claimed there were 1.3million drug addicts in Thailand, some 250,000 of whom had been jailed for their habit.
Even then he was advocating looking at different ways to combat the problem.
'The world also agrees that imprisonment is not the answer to convince drug convicts to give up the habit,' he told people gathered at the launch of a rehabilitation programme, The Nation reported.
Thailand considering legalising CRYSTAL METH as ruling junta's general admits the world has lost the war on drugs[at] | Daily Mail Online
