As a foreigner living in Thailand it's easy to see the country with somewhat rose tinted glasses. Drinks are cheap, climate is good, food is great and living expenses are far less than western countries where we hail from. Living here for any length of time however you will eventually be exposed to the enormity of the drug problem that pervades the lower end of Thai society - namely Meth. It's everywhere in every environment at every age group in every part of the country. And meth use and inevitable addiction is on the rise. Such is the scale of the problem that some in the corridors of power have even whispered legalising and taxing it. Just look at this terrifying pie chart below.....
I remember when I was a teenager in school back in Australia - the real bad kids (yes I was part of that) experimented with alcohol and then moved on to smoking weed. That was as bad as it got and in all fairness hardly a national crisis. Putting your kids through the public schooling system here in Thailand they will be exposed to Meth use by their peers. That's dam scary and a very sad truth. I know this for a fact from putting my ex-wife's teenage kids through the public schooling system in Krabi, Thailand. Many teenagers start experimenting with drugs (As I did with weed back in the 80s) but teenagers smoking meth behind the toilet block on lunch break is bloody scary. If you think this is not happening then you are sadly mistaken.
Meth use in Thailand is just enough on the peripherals of your vision of every day life that you cant see it. Unless you look just a tiny bit closer. Those construction workers that have a labour camp near your house at the bottom the Soi - Meth is being smoked there every evening. The fishermen that hang around the klong drinking cheap Thai Wiskey every evening - Meth users. The motorcycle enthusiasts that gather in the empty car parks of Big C and Tesco on weekends and evenings - Meth.
You might think I'm being cynical. I'm not. I'm being truthful with just a pinch of well learned and hard earned cynicism. I remember not long ago I was in Pai - that very beautiful region of north Thailand that is part of Mae Hong Son that borders Myanmar. I wanted to do a little hiking on my own up there and get off the trekking routes. I spoke of my intentions with a few Thais up there and their reaction was immediate and forceful. Do not under any circumstances wander from established trekking routes that are allowed to have foreign tourists on. The reason? Meth production and Meth movement. The mountains and jungles up there are controlled by gangs that either trek the meth in from Myanmar or are producing it in labs up there then moving it down to the roads for distribution. This article https://news.sky.com/story/asias-meth-route-how-illegal-drugs-flooding-into-thailand-are-leaving-thousands-addicted-12207643 explains very clearly what's going on and the same can be said for the entire northern border regions of Thailand on both the Laos and Myanmar sides.
I was further exposed to the scale of Meth addiction here in Thailand when I started doing video productions for a couple of the more well-known rehab clinics in Chiang Mai. Then I realised that while Thailand was struggling with a huge addiction problem, it was also leading the way with treatment and rehabilitation for meth addiction. If you want help - its there. The rehabs of Thailand offer all different paths and some of them are exceptionally expensive - targeting wealthy families in the west that have money to spare for addicted love ones.
My dear friend Ali set up a rehab that focused on using physical training and martial arts as a path to freedom from Meth addiction. I made this short video for him after he had his business up and running and he continues to help people get clean and get moving.