Soaring prison population prompts Thailand to re-think 'lost' drug war

Somsak Sreesomsong was 18 when he was jailed for selling illegal drugs. Now, turning 30, he is not yet half way through his 33-year sentence at Bangkok's high-security Klong Prem prison.

Soaring prison population prompts Thailand to re-think 'lost' drug war ?m=02&d=20160717&t=2&i=1145798663&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC6G012

Soaring prison population prompts Thailand to re-think 'lost' drug war ?m=02&d=20160717&t=2&i=1145798663&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC6G012

Somsak was "just a kid, not a big-time dealer", his older brother Panit told Reuters after a visit to the jail. "We're also serving time, waiting for him to get out so he can help the family."

More than a decade after Thailand declared a "war on drugs", the country is admitting defeat. As the prison population soars, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya told Reuters he was looking at changes to the country's draconian drug laws.

"I want to de-classify methamphetamine but Thailand is not ready yet," said Paiboon, meaning downgrading the drug, popularly known as "meth", from a Category 1 substance, which would reduce jail time for possession or dealing.

Use of methamphetamine is spiraling across Southeast Asia, and authorities are struggling to respond.

In the Philippines, which has some of the highest rates of "meth" use, police killings of drug suspects have spiked since the swearing-in of President Rodrigo Duterte, elected on a platform of harsh measures to wipe out drug crime.

Myanmar, the source of much of the drugs flooding through the region, is bracing for an explosion in domestic use.

Overall, drugs supply in Southeast Asia, especially of methamphetamine, is at a record level, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

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Soaring prison population prompts Thailand to re-think 'lost' drug war

Soaring prison population prompts Thailand to re-think 'lost' drug war

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Via AnCaps: Law & Enforced Unnatural Order