Pubdate: Sun, 26 Jun 2005
Source: Nation, The (Thailand)
Copyright: 2005 Nation Multimedia Group
Contact:  http://www.nationmultimedia.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1963

IT TAKES MORE THAN A BONFIRE TO FIGHT DRUGS

Suppression, Prevention -- And Less Corruption -- All Key To Curbing
The Narcotics Trade

Today, many countries around the world celebrate the United Nations
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Thailand
will be doing its share by organising the familiar old ceremony it
holds every year, which in the past has featured a huge public
demonstration that culminated in the burning of a large cache of
illicit drugs seized from traffickers. This year's spectacle may not
be as dramatic as in previous years because the government has
abandoned the practise of torching illicit drugs in a gigantic
bonfire, which environmentalists say causes pollution. Instead, 10
million tablets of amphetamines weighing 892 kilograms, about 50 kilos
of heroin, eight kilos of ecstasy pills, 47 kilos of opium, just over
half a kilo of cocaine and 200 grams of marijuana will be incinerated
under controlled conditions.

Such activities are intended to symbolise before the world that
Thailand is fully committed to eliminating the sale and abuse of
illicit drugs among its citizens. Such conspicuous displays are not
unique to Thailand. Burma's military junta holds its own events as
part of its effort to appeal to the international community for aid to
fund its dubious and poorly managed anti-drug programmes.

This year, as in previous years, people in Thailand can expect to hear
the same tough talk against drugs from Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, who has made a habit of declaring all-out war on drugs in
a bold bid to free Thai society of the menace of drug abuse. If his
big promises contained as much substance as they have drama, the
country would have seen off its last drug abusers a few years ago.

This has not been the case.

The same factors that have long made it possible for drug-trafficking
operations to do such brisk trade within the country remain in place:
corrupt government officials who are complicit in the trade, and the
long porous borders with countries that either tolerate the production
of illicit drugs or possess no political will to suppress it.

In recent years, Thailand's anti-drug campaign has focused primarily
on amphetamines, the drug of choice for many in this country. The
authorities say that about 5 per cent of the country's 63 million
people are believed to be regular users of amphetamine.

In addition to the drug-burning ceremony, other demonstrations and
activities are to be held across the country. Among the activities on
the nation's agenda are marches by young students, essay-writing
contests and award ceremonies for social workers. Celebrity
endorsement of the government's anti-drug efforts has also become a
big thing in the fight against abuse.

In recent years, Thailand's drug-fighting authorities, like those in
other countries with serious drug-abuse problems, have announced that
they have shifted away from the techniques of traditional supply-side
intervention -- or trying to suppress drug production and taking legal
actions against traffickers -- in favour of demand-side management, or
trying to change the lifestyles of potential and existing drug abusers.

Despite this shift, the message that the authorities is trying to
convey remains unchanged even though it has demonstrably failed to
address the reality of the drug problem. Drug users, regardless of
their ability and readiness to quit taking drugs, are provided with no
alternatives beyond forced treatment and prosecution.

Both supply-side intervention and well-thought out programmes to
educate people about the virtues of clean living take time to produce
measurable, concrete results. The trouble is that the government may
not be in power long enough to be able to claim credit for them. This
explains why many governments, the Thaksin administration included,
seem to find it easier to bombard the public with bellicose anti-drug
rhetoric that is fixated on the "threat" of drugs to national security
than to pursue a more refined strategy.

It may be true that anti-drug operations require some specialised
knowledge and expertise on the part of law enforcement officials to
ensure the successful prosecution of traffickers.

The same applies to the creation of innovative social programmes aimed
at changing people's attitudes towards drugs. However, the bottom line
remains that success in battling against drugs hinges on the
government doing a lot of different things right, beyond the simple
dichotomy of supply and demand.

Fighting drug abuse takes more than expensive publicity stunts or
murderous frenzies of the sort that saw the extrajudicial killing of
some 2,000 suspected drug traffickers.

Above all, keeping corruption in check is a prerequisite for any
chance of success. Given the government's record on dealing with
corruption, this could be too much to ask.
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