Thailand: Ministry wants PM to use absolute power to decriminalize meth

'Ya ba' pills, which are a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine. Pic: Wikimedia Commons.

 30th August 2016

THAILAND’S Justice Ministry says it is seeking to invoke the powerful Section 44 of the kingdom’s interim charter to remove methamphetamine from the dangerous drugs list.

Section 44 of the charter gives Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha absolute power to issue any order for the sake of reforms, among other reasons.

According to the Bangkok Post, the removal of the methamphetamine from the list would allow health authorities to use the substance for medical purposes. Other reports say the removal also comes with the provision that the Public Health Ministry had a proper system to tackle drug abuse.

Justice Minister Paiboom Koomchaya said the decriminalization of the substance could be expedited by using Section 44 of the charter, although the junta-led government is working on drug law reforms.

He said health authorities can begin using methamphetamine for medical treatment if PM Prayuth agrees to invoke the section.

Methamphetamine, which is locally known as ‘Yaba’ or ‘speed’, is commonly used to treat psychological and medical conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obesity.

“If yaba remains a category one drug, we can’t change anything,” Paiboon was quoted as saying inThe Nation.

“While suppression efforts would require Asean countries’ determination to destroy its manufacturing base in the Golden Triangle … The new compilation of drugs laws would also segregate drug abusers, dealers and those committing both offences [for proper penalties] … traffickers would get death sentences.”

He added: “If society is confident in substance control and jail terms for drug traffickers, amphetamine prices could drop to Bt5 ($0.15) to Bt10 ($0.30) per pill, resulting in the destruction of the drug trade.”

SEE ALSO: Thailand: Justice Ministry seeking to remove ‘ya ba’ from ‘most-dangerous drugs’ list

Public Health permanent secretary Dr Sopon Mekthon told The Nation that ready to respond accordingly if the government revised its policy to regulate the drug, adding doctors could not prescribe ‘yaba’ for medical treatment while it remained a category one drug.

When introducing the proposal for decriminalization of the substance in June, Paiboon said even after 28 years of fighting against drugs and drug abuse, the world had yet to see any large strides towards victory, and the number of drug addicts is only increasing.

He said that governments were now changing tack and trying to find ways to “co-exist” with drugs, and called for Thailand to overhaul its narcotics laws, including allowing courts to sentence convicted drug addicts to treatment and rehabilitation rather than a prison