In almost every year over the past decade, authorities in the region seized more meth than they had the year before
Law-enforcement agencies in South-East Asia have grown accustomed to breaking records. In almost every year between 2011 and 2020, the authorities seized more meth, as the drug is commonly known, than they had the year before.
That appeals to people who work long hours, like Somchai , who was a truck driver when he first started popping, tablets containing four parts caffeine to one part meth. Meth use was once confined to the working class but since crystal meth, the quality of which is higher than, started flooding the market about seven years ago, it has attracted a well-heeled crowd. Stronger and purer thanDealers can count on their customers coming back to them.
Even so, indicators in most countries are trending up. In the five years to 2020 the number of known meth users in Vietnam increased eight-fold. In Thailand admissions for treatment doubled in the three years to 2018. In Malaysia the number of crystal-meth users who had contact with the authorities increased six-fold between 2016 and 2019.
This is taking its toll on public health. Meth kindles feelings of euphoria, often spurring users to engage in risky behaviour, such as having unprotected sex at “chemsex” parties. The urge to strengthen the rush leads some users to inject meth, which increases the chance of transmitting diseases likeOnce the high wears off, some suffer from anxiety and paranoia. Over a third of recreational users will acquire meth-induced psychosis, which is akin to schizophrenia.
The response of South-East Asian governments has not helped. Too often, the authorities punish users, locking them up or throwing them into “compulsory treatment” centres, where the only treatment provided is abstinence and labour. This punitive response “has simply failed to work”, says Ann Fordham of the International Drug Policy Consortium, an advocacy group based in London, pointing to the rocketing number of users.
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