Is Drug Decriminalisation on the Cards for Thailand?

Thailand’s Minister of Justice, General Paiboon Koomchaya, recently ignited a heated debate when he proposed re-scheduling methamphetamine as a ‘medicine’ rather than a ‘narcotic’ drug. But given that one of the Minister’s objectives is to avoid punishing people who use drugs, in particular ensuring they do not end up in prison,’ the proposal to reschedule is essentially a ‘red herring’. To reschedule methamphetamine without other serious policy reforms, such as removing criminal penalties for drug use and possession for personal use and ending compulsory drug detention, those who use methamphetamine without a prescription (and let’s face it, this would be the majority of users) would still end up facing harsh punishment in Thailand.

Over the past year, the failure of Thai drug policies to reduce the use and supply of drugs, particularly methamphetamine, has been the subject of much debate in judicial circles.

This has partly been provoked by ...

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