Mr Saksiri, now aged 39, said he had to steal money from family and friends to buy ya ba. Other drug users he knew who did time came out of jail with better drug-dealing skills and connections. This forced drug users to the margins, so they turned to other drug users who seemed to understand them." "Long years of criminalising ya ba users have made them stigmatised. "Only drug users with small amounts are caught," said Verapun Ngammee, secretariat of the Ozone Foundation, Thailand's largest NGO focusing on improving the lives of drug users.

Source: Bangkok Post September 11, 2016 00:56 UTC