Ministry of Public Health carried out the 42nd Destruction of Confiscated Narcotics,

Ministry of Public Health carried out the 42^nd Destruction of Confiscated Narcotics, in custody of the Royal Thai Government, totaling 3,363 kilograms, worth more than 10,080 million Baht, on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.  

                The Ministry of Public Health, in cooperation with various concerned agencies, carried out the destruction of confiscated narcotics, in custody of the Royal Thai Government, on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, totaling 3,363 kilograms, worth 10,080 million Baht.  The Ministry also revealed that, this year , there are 158,012 drug addicts who have entered rehabilitation programs.  There is also a great concern that the number of young people between the age of 18 and 24 years are the majority who used addictive substances.

                Today (June 26, 2013), H.E. Dr.Cholnan Srikaew, Deputy Minister of Public Health, and Dr.Boonchai Somboonsook, Secretary General of the Food and Drug Administration, presides over the Destruction of Confiscated Narcotics, in custody of the Royal Thai Government, on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, June 26, 2013.  This is the 42^nd destruction of the seized narcotics and is organized by the cooperation between the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Public Health and various concerned governmental and private agencies, such as, the Royal Thai Police, the Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Navy, the Royal Thai Air Force, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board and the Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate.

The total amount of the destroyed  confiscated narcotics on this occasion was 3,363 kilograms from a total of 2,584 cases, worth 10,080 million Baht. These include various narcotics such as Methamphetamine or “Yaabaa”, totaling 31 million tablets, weighing over 2,793 kilograms, worth approximately 9,312 million Baht; Crystal Methamphetamine or  “Ice”, weighing over 298 kilograms, worth approximately 597 million Baht; Heroin, weighing over 125 kilograms, worth approximately 100 million Baht; Ecstasy  about 16,570 pills, weighing over 4 kilograms, worth approximately 16 million Baht; Cocaine of over 17  kilograms, worth approximately 51 million Baht. There were Marijuana from the stock of confiscated drugs and illicit substances held by Narcotics Suppression Bureau, weighing over 2,603 kilograms, worth approximately 6.5 million Baht were included in the destruction as well. 

The procedure used to destroy the confiscated illicit drugs on this occasion is called Pyrolytic Incineration, which effectively burns the drugs at a temperature of more than 850 degree Celsius, turning every molecule of all addictive drugs and substances into carbon ashes very quickly and rendering them completely unusable without creating any kind of air or environmental pollution.                                                                                     

The Thai Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, designates the tackling of problems of drug abuse as a National Agenda and has established the Center for the Supervision of the Engagement  of the Strength of the Land in defeating  the threat  of narcotics. The center aims to urgently promote the solving of the spread of narcotics problems and has set the target of treating abusers and addicts, who are regarded as patients to a total of not less than 300,000 out of the overall expected number of drug abusers of 2 million people.

As for the amount of confiscated narcotics inspected and received by the Food and Drug Administration or FDA, this was found to have continuously increased. In 2010, 4,300.88 kilograms of illicit substances from 42,803 criminal cases were received by the FDA; in 2012,  7,780.33 kilograms from 76,739 cases, showing a 80% increase .  Most of these are Metamphetamine, accounted for 80% of the quantity remaining in the FDA’s storage.  This increase is especially noted in the case of high purity Metamphetamine  , known as Ice, In early 2013 for 3 months (January – March 2013), the figure of confiscated narcotics received by FDA is 2,881.63 kilograms from 22,121 criminal cases. After this 42^nd Destruction of Confiscated Narcotics, there will be over 28 tons of illicit substances, in custody of the Royal Thai Government, that remained and kept by FDA, from 213,488 cases, worth more than 83,735 million Baht. If cases involving these confiscated narcotics are proceeded to the court and the Court of First Instance have decision or order to seize of the narcotics, FDA will then request permission from the Center Committee in carrying out their destruction. 

In term of the rehabilitation of drug addicts, there are 1,287 hospitals throughout the country under and outside the supervision of the ministry that provide such services to the patients. According to the latest report regarding abusers and addicts, the total number of those who entered rehabilitation programs in all 3 systems between October 1, 2012 and June 7, 2013 was 158,012.  The numbers of participants for the three systems of rehabilitation were 60,622 having entered the programs voluntarily, 84,404 having been forced to undergo them and 12,986 who were rehabilitated during the punishment term.  69% of those undergoing rehabilitation programs were abusers, 29% addicts and 2% serious addicts.  92% were men, the remainders were women.  The narcotic drugs most often used by abusers and addicts were Methamphetamines or Yaabaa (84%), Ice (5%) and Marijuana (4%).  The occupation of the abusers that have most often used narcotic drugs were hired labor (45%), unemployed (17%), agriculturist (14%) and students (7%), respectively.

From the analysis of those drug abusers who entered the rehabilitation programs, one third was young persons between 18 and 24 years of age which was the biggest group.

*********************************  June 26, 2013