Often, the first question people ask us after getting charged with a drug crime in Thailand is whether they will be going to jail.

Every case is different, of course, but for drug crime in Thailand the chances are high that you will go to jail depending on the charge. From a short period of time to a long time i.e., 1 month – 99 years.

In many cases, which may be yours, you feel you are not guilty of the charges, we will defend you to ensure your legal and human rights and to provide a very good defense to prove your innocence.

However, in Thailand, if you plead guilty to a drug crime you will receive between 1 month probation to 10 years in jail.

If, however, you plead not guilty to a drug crime and then found guilty you, most likely, will receive a sentence of between 10 to 99 years or even the death penalty.

Let us get rid of the myth, bribing the judge and court officers just does not happen. For drug crime in Thailand the cases are too serious, if this can happen why are there thousands of foreigners in Thai jails?

If you feel the arrest was wrongly carried out for a drug crime Four or more police officers will swear in court they did arrest you correctly and it will be your word against theirs.

Drug Crime in Thailand

The laws you have broken in Thailand for drug crime is possession of illegal drugs are under the Narcotic Regulation B.E. 2522 Act.

• Drugs manufacturing (heroin, methamphetamine or LSD) resulting in death sentence
• For drug crime in Thailand any conviction of possession with intent to distribute of heroin, methamphetamine or LSD is a 4 years to death sentence
• For drug crime in Thailand a conviction of possession of marijuana is imposed in excess of the 5 years maximum
• Heroin
  • less than 3g conviction 4 years – 15 years imprisoned
  • 3g to 20g conviction 4 years to life imprisoned
  • 20g or more conviction life imprisoned to death sentence
• Marijuana
  • less than 5kg conviction 5 years maximum
  • 5kg to 10kg conviction 2 – 10 years imprisoned
  • 10kg or more conviction 2-15 years imprisoned
• Amphetamine
  • less than 1.5g conviction 4 years – 15 years imprisoned
  • 1.5g to 20g conviction 4 years to life imprisoned
  • 20g or more conviction life imprisoned to death sentence

For use of the following substances:

1) Heroin, diacetylmorphine – a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. It can be used legally as an analgesic (a painkiller)

2) Cocaine, a stimulant extract of naturally-occuring plant substances, as the hydrochloride salt. Legally used as an anesthetic.

3) Crack, a solid, smokable form of cocaine in its purest form

4) Crystal Meth (Ice), methamphetamine, a stimulant related to amphetamines. Addiction typically occurs when a person begins to use the drug as a stimulant, for its powerful enhancing effects on sex, mood and energy, alertness and ability to concentrate, and weight loss and appetite suppression, among its other psychological and physical effects. Legal use includes the treatment of Narcolepsy.

5) Amphetamine, a stimulant known to produce increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.

6) Ecstasy, a type of illicit street tablet containing one or more different psychoactive drugs sold on the black market and intended for recreational uses.

7) Marijuana, the leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant.

Depending on whether you were just in possession, trafficking or manufacturing, of one or more of the above drugs will determine how serious the charges will be for drug crime in Thailand.

Yaba, the 'crazy medicine' of East Asia

19 May 2008 - Yaba, or 'crazy medicine' in Thai, is a tablet form of methamphetamine, and a very powerful stimulant. Introduced to East Asia during World War II to enhance soldiers' performance, methamphetamine has become increasingly popular in East Asia, particularly among young people. Yaba is now the main form of methamphetamine abused in Thailand , Laos and Cambodia as well as Viet Nam and Myanmar, where it is typically manufactured. More people are arrested for drug crime than any other substance.

Mixed with caffeine and usually 30 per cent methamphetamine, the drug is a central nervous system stimulant. Although it comes in a pill form, Yaba is usually crushed and smoked. Users get an intense 'burst' of energy, followed by increased activity, decreased appetite and a general sense of well-being. Once the effects wear off, the user 'crashes' and experiences prolonged periods of sleep and depression.

Like other forms of methamphetamine, long-term abuse of yaba can produce strong dependence. Users develop tolerance and require increasing amounts of the drug to feel the same effects. Excessive doses can result in convulsions, seizures and death from respiratory failure, stroke or heart failure. The drug can trigger aggressive and violent behaviour, and psychiatric disorders have also been associated with its use.

Traditionally used by occupational workers such as truck/bus drivers, the use of yaba in East Asia shifted into youth culture about 10 years ago. Starting in Thailand and spreading into Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam, yaba consumers in the region are now estimated in the millions. Recently, the drug crime has been spreading toward the Indian subcontinent; in 2007, a record 1,200,000 yaba tablets were confiscated in Bangladesh where there is a potentially very large market. 

The development and spread of drug crime users of yaba in the region has been opportunistic. As UNODC drug crime expert Jeremy Douglas explains, "it is a drug that is cheap to manufacture and cheap to purchase. You introduce it somewhere and develop a drug crime market fairly quickly because it is cheap and highly addictive." With one tablet costing as little as US$ 1 in Cambodia to US$ 5 in Bangkok, the drug is very easy to produce if in possession of the necessary precursor materials. "You can have labs producing 10,000 tablets per hour hidden anywhere", he adds.

Unlike geographically confined, crop-based drugs, such as opium in Afghanistan, synthetic drugs like yaba can be produced anywhere in the world where there are weaknesses in law enforcement of drug crime and in precursor chemical regulations. The portable and clandestine nature of production also makes it difficult to monitor and assess the situation systematically. "At the moment the information base is quite fractured", says Douglas. "In some parts of the world, we know it is there - we just don't know the extent to which it is."

To help address the issue, UNODC is launching the Global Synthetics Monitoring: Analysis, Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme. Set up in hotspots and key priority regions of the world, SMART teams will assess data and information, thus enabling countries to strategically plan prevention and law enforcement responses.