The cabinet, under Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s leadership, has provisionally approved a policy mandating that individuals in possession of more than a single methamphetamine tablet will be categorized as offenders without the option for rehabilitation.
This decision stems from a draft regulation put forth by the Ministry of Public Health, which aims to address criticisms of a previous rule requiring legal action for those found with five or more speed pills. The former regulation had been scrutinized for creating a loophole where individuals possessing between one and four pills could escape potential legal consequences by being considered drug addicts in need of treatment.
Prime Minister Srettha explained that a person caught with a single tablet, equivalent to no more than 100 milligrams of meth, would be presumed a first-time offender eligible for rehabilitation.
The draft regulation is to be reviewed by the Council of State, the government’s legal body, for assessment. Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin highlighted a condition attached to the one-tablet rehabilitation policy, stipulating that individuals must demonstrate that the meth acquisition was for personal use, not for sale. Failure to prove this would result in prosecution, as per the minister. Once the Council of State completes its review, the draft will return to the cabinet for final approval before implementation, likely within the current month.
Minister Somsak emphasized that the one-tablet threshold aims to distinguish between addicts and drug traffickers, underlining initiatives to confiscate assets acquired through drug money. Furthermore, the law permits rewards for officials involved in investigating illicit drug cases and for informants as part of intensified efforts against the drug trade.
