THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Flavoured 'yaba' aimed at kids

Flavoured 'yaba' aimed at kids

Parents should keep an eye on their children as a new form of flavoured meth-amphetamine pill is being distributed via Facebook, authorities said yesterday.

“We found that yaba makers are trying to change their product to meet the demands targeted groups,” said Dr Viroj Verachai, director of the Princess Mother National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment.
The new yaba tablets look like candy and are being offered to children, he said.
Yaba labs have increased the potency from 20 per cent up to 90-95 per cent especially for “ice”, or crystal meth, which directly stimulates the nervous system. Generally, yaba tastes bitter but to lure new customers, sweet flavours have been added such as chocolate, strawberry and milk.
“These flavours help the users take the drug more easily, but it could severely affect their nervous systems,” he said.
About 75 per cent of those enrolled in drug rehabilitation programmes were yaba users and 25 per cent were addicted to ice.
Though some users were able to kick the habit within six months, some could develop mental problems, he added.
In Chiang Rai, police arrested several yaba dealers and seized a million tablets.
This lot was smuggled in by a group of |ethnic Akha tribesmen, and was aimed for the South via Bangkok, Pol General Priewphan Damaphong said at a press conference yesterday.
 

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