MORE DRUG USERS, DELINQUENTS AMONG THAI YOUTH, SAYS SURVEY

BANGKOK - A recent survey suggested not only that the government's
controversial war on drugs last year was a hollow victory, but also painted
a picture of Thai youth increasingly adrift from traditional values and
family ties.

Data extrapolated from the survey by Assumption University, which covered
more than 14,000 youngsters aged 11 to 26 years in 29 provinces, found the
number of drug abusers more than doubled from 444,307 in February last year
to 955,764 this February.Advertisement

In December last year, the government declared victory in its war on drugs
that left more than 2,000 people dead.

The survey found that the majority of young drug users were not in the
formal education system - and the highest proportion by far was in the
troubled south, where 9.74 per cent of respondents said they took drugs as
opposed to 4.34 per cent in the north-east, a region equally poor.

Methamphetamines and marijuana were the drugs of choice.

The survey also found fewer teens living with parents, more teens having
watched pornography and the number of teenagers involved in 'social good'
activities falling.

The number of respondents giving alms to monks on their dawn rounds fell
from 85.3 per cent to 79.4 per cent in the same period.

Commenting on the survey findings, 20-year-old Saowalak Krischor, a student
at Dusit Thani College, told The Straits Times she rarely gave alms to monks
except on her birthday and other special occasions.

'I think lately, teenagers rarely do it because they don't have time and
also usually wake up late,' she said.

The findings came as no surprise to social workers and those involved in
issues related to drugs, who have long maintained that the war on drugs may
have driven prices up and dealers underground, but only temporarily.

The war on drugs concentrated on methamphetamine pills known locally as
yaba.

The issue of delinquent youth is also one that the authorities have been
struggling to deal with.

Gang wars, motorcycle racing and gambling are rife among vocational college
students, and the number of young men being ordained into the monkhood - a
near-universal practice among young Thai males in the past - has been
dwindling.

A ban on late-night playing of the Internet-based video game Ragnarok
imposed last year has had little effect - Ragnarok parlours still do
thriving business until well past midnight.