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I don't think you have any idea what you are talking about. I am an American who has lived in Thailand for several years. The US has a huge drug problem and S

I don't think you have any idea what you are talking about. I am an American who has lived in Thailand for several years. The US has a huge drug problem and SE Asia doesn't even come close. The local population does not abuse drugs at all. Nearly all of the drug trade caters to American/European tourists. Which is incidentally why the punishment is so harsh, they do not tolerate foreigners poisoning their society. Enforcement works.

api 9y ago
There's another possibility. Is there a cultural difference at work here? Does Asian culture have more respect for authority and less patience for things like drug abuse? I feel like if crazy penalties like that were levied in America we would take it as a challenge. We have a long history of that.
- true_religion 9y ago
  I have my doubts about culture being something that can effectively fend off chemical dependence. If anything, stigmatizing a situation only drives it underground where it isn't talked about, and essentially flourishes in the darkness.
- chewz 9y ago
  The difference is historical experience of XIX century. Have you ever heard of Opium Wars? Well British Empire - the largest drug cartel in history forced drugs on China and it's neighbours in the name of Free Trade. The British position was that China cannot forbid and stop "free trade" by British merchants selling drugs produced in Bengal, India (in order to self-finance costs of India occupation and wars) via Canton and Hong-Kong to China . The amount of drugs exported into China by British was circa 20 times the current consumption levels in US, similar in Thailand etc.. And the drug epidemic brought China to it's knees from a large however slightly backward and rigid empire of the beginning of XIX century to impoverished, revolution's torn country of the beginning of XX century. The memory of drug epidemics and the humiliation is still there and that's why Asian countries reject soft approach to drugs. The ruling elites know that over certain threshold drug epidemics could absolutely bring the country down.
ponyfleisch 9y ago
In SEA, you are just much better shielded from these issues. Drugs (and alcoholism for that matter) are absolutely issues in thai society.
true_religion 9y ago
If the drug trade caters to foreigners, then isn't it plausible that locals are selling to foreigners? In this case, how would foreigners be responsible for "poisoning their society"? To me this sounds a lot like what you here in the West concerning drugs... America claims its' foreign traders with "terrorist connections" who do drug sales (e.g. all the talk about Colombian drug cartels, or Mexican drug wars).
chewz 9y ago
Well, there is about 2 million meth users in Bangkok alone according to some estimates. And every second minivan driver etc. - just observe their erratic behavior. Every second person who is working long hours which is almost everyone in the country. The amount of pills found by Thai police every weeks is astonishing. So much in fact that recently government official have proposed to de-penalize meth. http://time.com/4371163/thailand-decriminalize-methamphetamine-meth-ice-drugs-policy/ http://time.com/4371163/thailand-decriminalize-methamphetami... Philipines president have 86% support thanks to tough (and lawless) war on drugs and Indonesia is trying to follow in Philippines footsteps. Because ever cheaper drugs are getting out of control here.

api 9y ago

There's another possibility. Is there a cultural difference at work here? Does Asian culture have more respect for authority and less patience for things like drug abuse? I feel like if crazy penalties like that were levied in America we would take it as a challenge. We have a long history of that.

true_religion 9y ago
I have my doubts about culture being something that can effectively fend off chemical dependence. If anything, stigmatizing a situation only drives it underground where it isn't talked about, and essentially flourishes in the darkness.
chewz 9y ago
The difference is historical experience of XIX century. Have you ever heard of Opium Wars? Well British Empire - the largest drug cartel in history forced drugs on China and it's neighbours in the name of Free Trade. The British position was that China cannot forbid and stop "free trade" by British merchants selling drugs produced in Bengal, India (in order to self-finance costs of India occupation and wars) via Canton and Hong-Kong to China . The amount of drugs exported into China by British was circa 20 times the current consumption levels in US, similar in Thailand etc.. And the drug epidemic brought China to it's knees from a large however slightly backward and rigid empire of the beginning of XIX century to impoverished, revolution's torn country of the beginning of XX century. The memory of drug epidemics and the humiliation is still there and that's why Asian countries reject soft approach to drugs. The ruling elites know that over certain threshold drug epidemics could absolutely bring the country down.

ponyfleisch 9y ago

In SEA, you are just much better shielded from these issues. Drugs (and alcoholism for that matter) are absolutely issues in thai society.

true_religion 9y ago

If the drug trade caters to foreigners, then isn't it plausible that locals are selling to foreigners? In this case, how would foreigners be responsible for "poisoning their society"? To me this sounds a lot like what you here in the West concerning drugs... America claims its' foreign traders with "terrorist connections" who do drug sales (e.g. all the talk about Colombian drug cartels, or Mexican drug wars).

chewz 9y ago

Well, there is about 2 million meth users in Bangkok alone according to some estimates. And every second minivan driver etc. - just observe their erratic behavior. Every second person who is working long hours which is almost everyone in the country. The amount of pills found by Thai police every weeks is astonishing. So much in fact that recently government official have proposed to de-penalize meth. http://time.com/4371163/thailand-decriminalize-methamphetamine-meth-ice-drugs-policy/ http://time.com/4371163/thailand-decriminalize-methamphetami... Philipines president have 86% support thanks to tough (and lawless) war on drugs and Indonesia is trying to follow in Philippines footsteps. Because ever cheaper drugs are getting out of control here.