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  • Methamphetamine use in Myanmar, Thailand, and Southern China: assessing practices, reducing harms

    Over the past decade, methamphetamine use has grown more popular in Myanmar, Thailand and Southern China. Based on in-depth interviews conducted with individuals who use methamphetamine, this briefing sheds light on the importance of promoting an environment that reinforces, rather than undermines, the ability of people who use methamphetamine to regulate their drug use, preserve their health and adopt safer practices.

    Download the briefing (PDF)

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

    Institute for Criminal Policy Research data showed Thailand has the eighth highest incarceration rate in the world

    thailand-prisonMore than a decade after Thailand declared a "war on drugs", the country is admitting defeat. As the prison population soars, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya is looking at changes to the country's draconian drug laws. "I want to de-classify methamphetamine but Thailand is not ready yet," said Paiboon, meaning downgrading the drug, popularly known as "meth", from a Category 1 substance, which would reduce jail time for possession or dealing. Thailand has approximately 40 percent of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' prison population, despite having only 10 percent of the bloc's total population.

  • Thailand

    Trends

    Despite the provisions in the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act (2002), laws remain in force which lead to the arrest and charges for offences under previous Acts (1975, 1976, 1979). Thus the policy that stipulates that people who use drugs or are dependent on drugs should be “treated as patients, not criminals” is contradicted by existing legal practices that establish criminal liability for mere consumption of drugs. However, the Thai government is now on the verge of adopting a national harm reduction policy to prevent HIV and other blood-borne virus transmission in the near future.

    The Thai government is currently reviewing policies leading to criminal charges for kratom possession and personal consumption as well as for hemp cultivation. In parallel, the Thai government is considering community-based drug treatment alternatives.

    People who use drugs represent a large proportion of Thailand’s incarcerated population. Research in the field suggests that 56.59% of Thai inmates are serving sentences for drug related offences,[1] representing well over 100,000 people . From 1992 to 2000, the number of persons jailed for drug use and drug possession only (i.e., not trafficking) more than doubled, but rates of imprisonment have wavered in the early 2002 . In 2008, Thailand’s prison population was made up of 214,397 , a significant rise from previous years that also significantly increases overcrowding to 157% .  Among detained drug users, 25–50% are ordered to attend custodial treatment programs (CHLN, 2009). Approximately 185,000 drug users were in compulsory drug treatment (both custodial and non-custodial) between 2003 and 2008 (Ibid).

    Laws

    The Thai framework for drug control is enshrined in the Narcotics Act (1979), the Narcotics Control Act (1976) and the Psychotropic Substances Act (1975). Possession is unlawful and penalties depend on the nature and quantity of drug found . Consumption and possession will lead to a combination of fines (THB 10,000 to 5,000,000) and incarceration (6 months to life). For a full description of scheduling and sentencing, read Compulsory Drug Treatment in Thailand (CHLN, 2009).

    The Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act (2002) incorporates a different approach to drug control by creating a legal regime that provides alternatives to incarceration for some drug offences . Under this approach, people are diverted from prisons into either in- or out-patient treatment programs. In-patient treatment programs take place in centres run by government agencies such as the Thai military forces, the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of the Interior .

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  • Withdrawal Symptoms in the Golden Triangle

    A Drugs Market in Disarray

    Witdrawal symptomsDrug control agencies have called the significant decline in opium production in Southeast Asia over the past decade a 'success story'. The latest report of the Transnational Institute (TNI). based on in-depth research in the region, casts serious doubts on this claim noting that Southeast Asia suffers from a variety of 'withdrawal symptoms' that leave little reason for optimism.

    application-pdfDownload the report (PDF)
    application-pdfThe ATS Boom in Southeast Asia (PDF)
    application-pdf Conclusions and recommendations (PDF)
    application-pdf Download press release (PDF)