SPY ON STUDENTS TO PREVENT DRUG ABUSE ADVISED

The 'Snooze And Sniffer Snoops' Are Watching

Owners and supervisors of student dormitories have been asked to keep a
closer eye on the students in a new offensive in the War on Drugs.
Following the central government's lead, Chiang Mai province has declared
the second War on Drugs which started on March 8 and will end on June 5.

The call was made at a seminar organised for the Chiang Mai Private
Dormitories Entrepreneurs Network at Srithana Commercial and Technological
College on May 12. Several experts from the northern Office of Narcotics
Control Board (ONCB), Chiang Mai Provincial Social Development and Welfare
Office, Chiang Mai Municipality, Phuping police station and Tambon Suthep
Administration Organization were present.

Dormitories are regarded as one of the six enterprises which, under the
Narcotics Control Act, require "attentive management" as the lodgers are
students who do not stay with their parents.

Susheap Kotcharin, an official of Policy and Planning Analysis at the ONCB
northern office, told the meeting, "A recent poll conducted among students,
both at vocational college and university levels, shows that 36 percent of
them are highly susceptible to narcotic addiction. Dormitories are
dangerous places for drug parties, as are pubs, discotheques or warehouses."

Dormitory owners are required to observe, inspect and supervise the
behavior of lodgers so that they do not become involved in drugs.

Participants at the seminar (fewer than 30 dormitory entrepreneurs attended
the seminar, although more than 90 had been invited) were advised that each
dormitory should keep records of inspections and visitors as proof to
officials that they are seriously trying to prevent wrongdoings involving
drugs on their premises.

"Any commercial lodging house which has five or more undergraduate students
not over 25 years old is certainly counted as a dormitory," explained
Manasaporn Pamornbutra from the Chiang Mai Provincial Social Development
and Welfare Office.

Apart from the Narcotics Control Act, dormitory entrepreneurs were also
compelled under the Dormitory Act of 1964 to keep profiles of tenants,
covering details on personal information, educational institutions and
phone numbers to contact in case of emergency.

Each dormitory must also be suitable as a residence and for studying,
protect from temptations and have adequate health and safety standards.
Student dormitories must also be clearly segregated for male and female
lodgers.

"After entertainment outlets close around 1-2 a.m., young people continue
to enjoy the night by having drug parties in their dormitory rooms," Pol
Capt Banjongsak Kamjai from Phuping police station told the seminar.
Dormitory supervisors should be aware of their lodgers' comings and goings
and observe suspicious behavior, smells and fumes coming from tenants'
rooms. "Cocaine smells like vanilla," he said.

However, the police advised dormitory owners against directly warning
lodgers or entering their rooms to conduct searches without being
accompanied by a police official. Instead, they should note suspicious
incidents and inform the police. "This is to prevent revenge attacks
against the owners or lodgers filing invasion of privacy lawsuits against
them," Pol Capt Banjongsak said.

One of the seminar attendants commented that the Dormitory Act was
impractical, because it requires dormitory owners "to ensure lodgers do not
fall pregnant prematurely or become infected with HIV/AIDS".

Manasaporn, from the provincial Social Development and Welfare Office,
agreed that the Act had been passed years ago and was undeniably outdated,
"But many measures in the Act, if properly adapted, are useful to both
owners and tenants," he argued.

Manasaporn also announced that officials with police sniffer dogs would
conduct random raids on dormitories, and urine tests for narcotics would
also be conducted between May 24 and June 4.

Sorasak Wajeesath, deputy permanent secretary of the Tambon Suthep
Administration Organization, added that students are circumventing the
measures of the Act by renting private houses in groups. This shows a
remarkable ability to see through the regulations.

For more information or consultation on dormitory management or inquiries
about measures stipulated by legislation, contact the Chiang Mai Provincial
Social Development and Welfare Office.