Meeting mulls decriminalising meth
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JUSTICE Minister Paiboon Koomchaya is ready to transfer drug rehabilitation function completely to the Public Health Ministry.
Authorities would proceed with the next step in the decriminalisation of methamphetamine, when the system is strong he said Wednesday after a meeting of agencies including the National Command Centre for Drugs and the Public Health Ministry to discuss the findings of the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs.
The assembly cited world currents shifting from the war on drugs to thinking of how to live with drugs.
Paiboon didn’t agree with the legalisation of drugs but agreed that drug abusers should be regarded as patients and treated accordingly.
While Thailand wasn’t ready yet to forsake capital punishment, authorities would ensure that punishment fit the crime, as the amended drug law would separate major dealers from drug mules, pushers and abusers when it came to meting out harsh penalties, he said.
Affirming that drugs, including yaba, were still illegal in Thailand, Paiboon said the meeting agreed the country would maintain the current drug policy comprising prevention, suppression and rehabilitation, but drug-taking would be viewed as a health issue.
