aiontay, sugar is used to produce ethanol which in turn is a primary component in synthesizing ephedrine from ephedra. There are of course other ways to produce amphetamines, but not ephedrine.
I would also be interested in what they mean by ‘heroin produced.’ Do they mean estimates on heroin sold, or is the UN asking cartels candidly on a question and answer form?!
You tried to tackle the problem of drug in Thailand.
Maybe some innocents suffered in the process.
But uncontrolled drugs are far more detrimental to society..
Let’s hope someone at the government will refocus on this matter instead of creating smoke and mirrors…
I cannot speak for those highly educated elite members of the NLA, but I do understand where they are coming from in trying to block malicious material.
I think they went about it the wrong way, but sometimes emotion gets in the way of rationality.
I still think the best amendment to the lese majeste laws would be to limit who can make the charge.
I like the David Streckfuss suggested amendment ”only by order of the King or with his consent” as mentioned in today’s editorial in the Bangkok Post.
Wonder what this saga was all about. I note that they tried to increase the coverage of persons protected by lese majeste, but reduce the maximum penalties (7 years to 5, etc.).
Was all this just sheer overzealousness from Pornpetch, Bawornsak et al wanting to protect all and sundry who ‘reside above their head’, or were they encouraged by someone in the privy council (e.g. Prem) to propose the changes, only to be told later by someone else (e.g. HMK) to drop it? Does this suggest the possibility that HMK sees Prem getting too power-hungry and this is just a clip behind the ears to remind Prem of his place? Is it just possible that a rift is developing between HMK and Pa?
Yes, I am pleased with the outcome. But why should it need a telephone call from a privy councilor to tell all those highly educated elite members of the NLA who backed both amendments what “sanity” in this case is? Should they not have known by themselves? And they were not at all convinced, but merely followed the order of a person higher up in the hierarchy. The same people, by the way, accuse up-country voters of not being mature enough to have the right to vote, and charge that they follow suggestions by their leaders as for how to vote, instead of using their own judgement!
I haven’t seen this, but I haven’t checked today. I did see a report where bogus monks were running around the country according to the “Burma’s premier propaganda vehicle”. It was in the same submission relating to finding large cache of weapons in the monasteries.
Thanks for posting the article. It was a good overview. I was particularly pleased that it pointed out that while acres planted in poppies appears to have decreased, the actual amount of heroin produced appears to have increased. This is an extremely important point since under ideal conditions increased inputs such as labor and fertilizer can more than double production per acre.
It would also be interesting to pinpoint more exactly where poppy production has shifted in the Shan State. The article notes that it has expanded in the southern Shan State. Since the UWSA has taken control of part of the southern Shan State and the Wa political leadership has moved significant parts of the Wa population there, one wonders if there is a correlation between the Wa State becoming opium free and the southern Shan State seeing an expansion in production.
Incidentally ephedrine can be produced synthetically without ephedra. If I am not mistaken, most of India’s ephedrine production for legitimate medical use is a byproduct of sugar production. One story I heard back in the late 1990s was that sugar cane and sugar production was proposed by one of the ceasefire groups in the Shan State as an alternative to opium production. Apparently, the proposal was fairly well received by international donors interested in crop substitution projects until somebody pointed out that ephedrine can by generated as a byproduct.
[…] Mandala points to an article in a State controlled newspaper in Myanmar that tries to discredit the monks. The monks were in the forefront of the protests that took place in Myanmar. Share […]
Presumably we’ll now hear from all the admirers of the king that he doesn’t want this revised law and that it is being forced on him by nasty politicians seeking to use the law for their own purposes.
That was an interesting read and a great site, thanks for highlighting it. I would love to know how the UN get all these all encompassing statistics for the illicit drug trade!
Just a quick observation
“however, ATS are not as place-bound since they do not require a field to grow, and are easy to process and conceal. ”
This is rubbish. The main proponent in an amphetamine is ephedrine which is brewed from the commonly found ephedra plant. While ephedra is found sporadically throughout jungle or forested regions, it would be too difficult to cultivate enough for an ‘operation’ without ‘fields’, or at least growing areas. However, it would be quite difficult for the untrained eye to notice ephedra as something distinct and questionable unlike papavar which is quite obviously unlike anything else growing in these regions.
Sidh’s comments on politicians misusing the king’s ideas are one way in which the monarchy is protected in Thailand, and are disingenuous. SE is the king’s idea and are clearly not driven by any desire to be green or anything else environmental. What of the huge polluting companies he owns? Think of Siam Cement! What of the huge dam projects he supports? Oh, yes, Siam Cement did okay out of them! What of the deforestation practiced at royal palaces? What of clearing out hill dwellers from land the royals coveted?
Presumably we’ll now hear from all the admirers of the king that he doesn’t want this revised law and that it is being forced on him by nasty politicians seeking to use the law for their own purposes.
IMO, this is just one more part of the political jigsaw that began when the coup shattered the 1997 constitution. Putting a conservative polity back together requires a strong security law; a parliament that can be controlled; venal politicians in a system where parties are weak; strong laws to censor and restrict; a bureaucracy and military with control over politics in the countryside and amongst the poor; and an (elected?) PM who can be manipulated. Almost there….
Why should a member of the NLA and his backers care about what a privy councilor tells him on the phone?
Amendment bills to increase penatlies on lese majeste cases withdrawn
A National Legislative Assembly member Tuesday withdrew two bills designed to amend the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedural Code to increase penalties on lese majeste cases.
Pornphet Wichitcholchai, the NLA member, who proposed the bills, said he withdrew them after receiving a phone call from a privy counicllor, saying the Privy Council did not agree with the amendments.
The amendments seek to insert a clause in Article 112 of the criminal law that covers offences against the monarchy institution to include offences against representatives of the King and the King’s sons and daughters.
Andrew Walker said: Some of the most potentially damaging material appearing on the internet (the extraordinary birthday party video in particular) appears to have impeccable provenance.
Me thinks Andrew Walker’s fascination with this particular royal birthday video is peeping Tomish.
Here is an extract from a story in today’s Nation about the dispute between Prasong and Surayud:
Prasong accused Surayud of practising double standards by breaking laws while running the administration. He vowed to grill Surayud in the NLA today over his statements he is “a bandit who repents and turns to be a good guy”. If Surayud repents, he has to return what he robbed from the country, he added. He said some NLA members would also probe Surayud over the allegation that he encroached on reserve forest at Khao Yai Thieng in Nakhon Ratchasima. The NLA’s standing committee on the police will meet today over the encroachment allegation. Prasong also distributed maps of Surayud’s house allegedly located on reserve forest.
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Drugs in mainland Southeast Asia
aiontay, sugar is used to produce ethanol which in turn is a primary component in synthesizing ephedrine from ephedra. There are of course other ways to produce amphetamines, but not ephedrine.
I would also be interested in what they mean by ‘heroin produced.’ Do they mean estimates on heroin sold, or is the UN asking cartels candidly on a question and answer form?!
Drugs in mainland Southeast Asia
Dear Taksin,
You tried to tackle the problem of drug in Thailand.
Maybe some innocents suffered in the process.
But uncontrolled drugs are far more detrimental to society..
Let’s hope someone at the government will refocus on this matter instead of creating smoke and mirrors…
The Irrawaddy on tension within tatmadaw ranks
[…] details in the┬ article but it┬ does go some way towards┬ clarifying┬ some of the information in these earlier New Mandala […]
A sufficiently tight media lid
Thailand is the epitome of Democracy ! Great !
A sufficiently tight media lid
I cannot speak for those highly educated elite members of the NLA, but I do understand where they are coming from in trying to block malicious material.
I think they went about it the wrong way, but sometimes emotion gets in the way of rationality.
I still think the best amendment to the lese majeste laws would be to limit who can make the charge.
I like the David Streckfuss suggested amendment ”only by order of the King or with his consent” as mentioned in today’s editorial in the Bangkok Post.
Lese Majeste
Wonder what this saga was all about. I note that they tried to increase the coverage of persons protected by lese majeste, but reduce the maximum penalties (7 years to 5, etc.).
Was all this just sheer overzealousness from Pornpetch, Bawornsak et al wanting to protect all and sundry who ‘reside above their head’, or were they encouraged by someone in the privy council (e.g. Prem) to propose the changes, only to be told later by someone else (e.g. HMK) to drop it? Does this suggest the possibility that HMK sees Prem getting too power-hungry and this is just a clip behind the ears to remind Prem of his place? Is it just possible that a rift is developing between HMK and Pa?
A sufficiently tight media lid
Yes, I am pleased with the outcome. But why should it need a telephone call from a privy councilor to tell all those highly educated elite members of the NLA who backed both amendments what “sanity” in this case is? Should they not have known by themselves? And they were not at all convinced, but merely followed the order of a person higher up in the hierarchy. The same people, by the way, accuse up-country voters of not being mature enough to have the right to vote, and charge that they follow suggestions by their leaders as for how to vote, instead of using their own judgement!
30 betting books…18 swords…3 loan agreements…and 1 Nazi headband?
I haven’t seen this, but I haven’t checked today. I did see a report where bogus monks were running around the country according to the “Burma’s premier propaganda vehicle”. It was in the same submission relating to finding large cache of weapons in the monasteries.
Drugs in mainland Southeast Asia
Thanks for posting the article. It was a good overview. I was particularly pleased that it pointed out that while acres planted in poppies appears to have decreased, the actual amount of heroin produced appears to have increased. This is an extremely important point since under ideal conditions increased inputs such as labor and fertilizer can more than double production per acre.
It would also be interesting to pinpoint more exactly where poppy production has shifted in the Shan State. The article notes that it has expanded in the southern Shan State. Since the UWSA has taken control of part of the southern Shan State and the Wa political leadership has moved significant parts of the Wa population there, one wonders if there is a correlation between the Wa State becoming opium free and the southern Shan State seeing an expansion in production.
Incidentally ephedrine can be produced synthetically without ephedra. If I am not mistaken, most of India’s ephedrine production for legitimate medical use is a byproduct of sugar production. One story I heard back in the late 1990s was that sugar cane and sugar production was proposed by one of the ceasefire groups in the Shan State as an alternative to opium production. Apparently, the proposal was fairly well received by international donors interested in crop substitution projects until somebody pointed out that ephedrine can by generated as a byproduct.
30 betting books…18 swords…3 loan agreements…and 1 Nazi headband?
[…] Mandala points to an article in a State controlled newspaper in Myanmar that tries to discredit the monks. The monks were in the forefront of the protests that took place in Myanmar. Share […]
Lese Majeste
Ouch!
Lese Majeste
Presumably we’ll now hear from all the admirers of the king that he doesn’t want this revised law and that it is being forced on him by nasty politicians seeking to use the law for their own purposes.
It seems your presumption was correct.
A sufficiently tight media lid
Why should a member of the NLA and his backers care about what a privy councilor tells him on the phone?
Maybe it took a privy councilor to convince them of the irrationality of their proposals.
You should be pleased that sanity has prevailed.
30 betting books…18 swords…3 loan agreements…and 1 Nazi headband?
13 catapults? 🙂
Drugs in mainland Southeast Asia
That was an interesting read and a great site, thanks for highlighting it. I would love to know how the UN get all these all encompassing statistics for the illicit drug trade!
Just a quick observation
“however, ATS are not as place-bound since they do not require a field to grow, and are easy to process and conceal. ”
This is rubbish. The main proponent in an amphetamine is ephedrine which is brewed from the commonly found ephedra plant. While ephedra is found sporadically throughout jungle or forested regions, it would be too difficult to cultivate enough for an ‘operation’ without ‘fields’, or at least growing areas. However, it would be quite difficult for the untrained eye to notice ephedra as something distinct and questionable unlike papavar which is quite obviously unlike anything else growing in these regions.
Examples of “sufficiency economy”
Sidh’s comments on politicians misusing the king’s ideas are one way in which the monarchy is protected in Thailand, and are disingenuous. SE is the king’s idea and are clearly not driven by any desire to be green or anything else environmental. What of the huge polluting companies he owns? Think of Siam Cement! What of the huge dam projects he supports? Oh, yes, Siam Cement did okay out of them! What of the deforestation practiced at royal palaces? What of clearing out hill dwellers from land the royals coveted?
Lese Majeste
Presumably we’ll now hear from all the admirers of the king that he doesn’t want this revised law and that it is being forced on him by nasty politicians seeking to use the law for their own purposes.
IMO, this is just one more part of the political jigsaw that began when the coup shattered the 1997 constitution. Putting a conservative polity back together requires a strong security law; a parliament that can be controlled; venal politicians in a system where parties are weak; strong laws to censor and restrict; a bureaucracy and military with control over politics in the countryside and amongst the poor; and an (elected?) PM who can be manipulated. Almost there….
A sufficiently tight media lid
Why should a member of the NLA and his backers care about what a privy councilor tells him on the phone?
Amendment bills to increase penatlies on lese majeste cases withdrawn
A National Legislative Assembly member Tuesday withdrew two bills designed to amend the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedural Code to increase penalties on lese majeste cases.
Pornphet Wichitcholchai, the NLA member, who proposed the bills, said he withdrew them after receiving a phone call from a privy counicllor, saying the Privy Council did not agree with the amendments.
The amendments seek to insert a clause in Article 112 of the criminal law that covers offences against the monarchy institution to include offences against representatives of the King and the King’s sons and daughters.
The Nation 9 October 2007
A sufficiently tight media lid
Andrew Walker said: Some of the most potentially damaging material appearing on the internet (the extraordinary birthday party video in particular) appears to have impeccable provenance.
Me thinks Andrew Walker’s fascination with this particular royal birthday video is peeping Tomish.
Surayud’s conservation zone
Here is an extract from a story in today’s Nation about the dispute between Prasong and Surayud: