Gen Paiboon was right to state that heavy suppression of illicit drugs has not worked given the rising number of cases, especially as they mainly involve small-time dealers and drug users. The illicit drug law reform as proposed by the ministry will lead to decriminalisation. The drug reform proposal by the Justice Ministry should receive public support, given that it calls for a change to treat drug users as patients, not criminals. Sending drug users to jail for years does not help solve their problems but can lead to other social ills. More importantly, it does not mean that we have to turn a blind eye to illicit drug problems.

Source: Bangkok Post March 16, 2017 21:33 UTC