Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai cabinet has approved in principle a law stipulating that anyone found in possession of more than one methamphetamine tablet will be regarded as an offender and will not have the option of being sent to rehabilitation, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on June 11.
The leader said a person caught with one tablet — or the equivalent of no more than 100 milligrammes of meth — will be assumed to be a first-time offender who will be rehabilitated. The draft regulation will now be sent to the Council of State, the government’s legal arm, for vetting.
Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said once the Council of State finishes the vetting process, the draft will be returned to the cabinet before it takes effect and the process can be wrapped up in June.
The minister said that there is a condition attached to the one-tablet rehab rule: the person must prove they acquired the drug for their own consumption and not for selling. If they fail to prove that, they will face prosecution.
The proposed one-tablet cut-off was intended to separate addicts from drug dealers and traffickers, he added.
The ministry has proposed tightening the definition of a drug user by limiting the legally permissible number of methamphetamine tablets from the current threshold of five pills to one to seal a loophole that benefits drug dealers./.
