Thailand’s novel approach to drugs could offer lesson to neighbors
Decades of waging war against narcotics had been a failure; usage had actually increased
Monday, August 8, 2016
Forward thinking is not what one has come to expect from the conservative military regime running Thailand for the past two years. But a government which otherwise likes to suppresses dissent and emphasize the need for law and order, has proposed what for southeast Asia is a novel answer to what is seen as a major problem: drugs. It also provides a welcome contrast to the extra-judicial slaughter of alleged drug dealers unleashed in the Philippines by newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte. (See also: A failing drug war triggers new approach in Thailand and Myanmar)