Addiction to Yaa Baa in Thailand
It seems like every time I look at the Thai news there is a video clip of smiling police proudly exhibiting a table full of Yaa Baa tablets with a guilty looking man in handcuffs standing uncomfortably beside them. These guys hardly ever look like criminal masterminds but more like addicts who are out of their depth and trying to feed a habit. Despite the frequent crackdowns though, Yaa Baa addiction remains a significant problem in Thailand. A few years ago there was a major operation to put an end to what was seen as a threat to society. During that time many drug dealers began turning up dead all over the country; 2,500 people died during that particular outburst of bullet-flu.
Yaa Baa is Thai for ‘crazy medicine’; its more technical name is methamphetamine. It was once known as Yaa Maa which means ‘horse medicine’ because it allowed people to work like animals. For a few years truck driver could drive night and day while taking this drug and it was only when they began going on killing sprees and jumping off buildings that the public began to worry about the drug. Now it is completely illegal and called crazy medicine.
Yaa Baa leaves you feeling disassociated and full of paranoia. I previously sought treatment at Wat Thamkrabok for an alcohol addiction; while there I met quite a few patients who had suffered permanent brain damage because of this drug. It isn’t just the Yaa Baa that is the problem, but the fact that many users also use solvents to come down off it. Yaa Baa mixed with paint thinner car really fry your brain -it is the cause of a lot of suicides and murders.
Thanks to temples like Wat Thamkrabok there is hope for those who have developed problems with this drug in Thailand. If people can be treated before they do permanent damage to their brains, or get too involved in crime, there can be the chance of recovery. Yaa Baa addiction in Thailand seems to be worse in the big urban areas. It is tempting to blame it all on the breakdown of traditional Thai society, but that seems too simplistic an answer. People fall into drug use for all types of reasons, but the important thing is to provide a way out of this hellish life.
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Paul I know I shouldn’t have laughed but your bullet-flu quote got me going. Mr Shinawatra ruffled a few far reaching feathers with that policy. I believe the cry of “human rights” was the term of the day. Mind you it worked (bullet-flu) to a fair degree, but nowadays drugs have crept back into Thailand full scale, especially in the border provinces.
In my early Thailand days I knew a Thai girl who got hooked on Yaa Baa. It was horrible to watch her deteriorate from a sweet country girl into a lying addict. In the end I cut and run. Sad days.
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Hi Martyn, there is not much you can do when somebody is addicted to yaa baa. Hopefully she will find a way out; the sweet country girl is still there somewhere. There were a few Thais girls in the temple when I was there; it was hard to imagine them as yaa baa addicts – but they were.
I AM AN AMERICAN MARRIED TO A THAI WOMAN AND AM LIVING IN ISAAN WITH AND HER 17 YEAR OLD SON WHO IS HOOKED ON YA BA. HE HAS BEEN POPPED FOR IT TWICE AND THINKS IT IS A GAME. I THINK THE SYSTEM IS A JOKE. HE GOT BUSTED THE SECOND TIME WHILE HE WAS STILL ON PROBATION FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHAT DID HE GET THE SECOND TIME? THE SAME AS THE FIRST TIME A SLAP ON THE HAND. HOW ABOUT SOME KIND OF DRUG REHAB PROGRAM OR A LITTLE INCARCERATION TO LET THEM KNOW. THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL END UP IF YOU STAY ON THIS ROAD. WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY POINT. WHERE IS THIS TEMPLE THAT YOU TALK ABOUT THAT HELPS ONE GET CLEAN. I AM VERY INTERESTED AND VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS. THANK YOU FOR ANY INFORMATION YOU CAN SEND MY WAY.
Hi Ron, Wat Thamkrabok temple is in Saraburi, Here is the link to their website http://www.thamkrabok-monastery.org/ . I hope it works out OK for him and the rest of your family.
Metamphetamines do crazy things with people and I’ve seen some in the West who lost their marbles because of it. Very sad indeed.
I’ve been reading contradicting stories though about the consistency of yaa baa, that it is not necessarily metamphetamines but something very similar laced with an added substance.
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Hi Camille, I think you are right. They do make Yaa Baa out of all types of things; I think a lot depends on where it comes from and who has made it. Those making these drugs probably don’t have too many scruples about what they put into them.
I remember Mr Ts policy many years ago. He made some crazy statement along the lines of… Thailand would be drug free in 6 months or something like that. Of course he now had to make good on such a bold statement. The alternative would be a loss of face! The rest was history.
What really gets me in this country is that people decide to take yaa baa in the first place. In a land with such strict penalties for drugs and drug use. Personally just the thought of x amount of years being spent in a horrible Thai slammer would be enough to scare the pants off me.
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Hi Mark, I suppose some people just think they will try it once because their friends are doing it – you never think you will get caught for doing something as a once off. They then try it a second time using the same logic. Soon they are hooked.
I worked with a Thai lawyer who had dealings with some thai people imprisoned for Yaabaa smuggling and sale. A lot of the yaabaa sold in Thailand is made in the Northern provinces and Myanmar. As said, it is metaamphetamine mixed with caffeine and anyhing from paracetamol to cleaning fluid. It is usually made in big baths. Prior to 1970 Yaabaa was legal. Until quite recently many employers, especially in transport, would give their employees yaabaa pills to work longer and thus earn more. The people who took them were generally low payed workers. They became a necessity to work in a system that demanded long hours and little pay. yaabaa used to cost anywhere between 50 – 100 baht 7 or 8 years ago. The price now is 300-500 baht a pill. This is due a lot to Thaksins war on drugs. Some say that he instigated the war to enhance the power of some major drug lords and wipe out their opposition, resulting in the higher prices. There are certain places where groups of addicts live as communities in bangkok. These places are known to the police. They are generally in the old thai wooden houses or shanty towns. The problem with imprisoning these people is that a lot of them are in and out of prison, and don’t seem to be too annoyed with going inside for a few months as they repeat again when let out, resulting in a vicious cycle
There was a book written by a French Author about yaabaa. I saw it in Asia books Silom once. However it was not in English.
Hi Patrick, good information. Yeah, they used to call Yaa baa a different name Yaa Maa because it made you work like a horse. There were a lot of people in Thamkrabok who had abused this drug; it completely fried their brains. A few years ago it was common to be offered Yaa Baa in the tourist areas.
By the way, the piece I wrote about Thaksin having instigated a war to help the drug lords (unwittingly?) is hearsay. It is just something that has been discussed. As far as I know there is no solid proof of this. Take it as you will.
Yeah. I am sure that this drug has ruined a lot of people in Thailand. I am sure that a lot of poor families are still suffering from the repercusions of members using it for work and then becoming addicted and self destructive.
It is sad. A lot of those who abused Yaa Baa are now brain dead – they just stare into space and can’t be helped. I really is like looking at a zombie – nasty drug.