FOUR PERCENT OF THAIS ADDICTED TO DRUGS - GOVT

BANGKOK, (Reuters) - Thailand said on Wednesday more than four percent of
its 62-million population, were drug addicts, mostly hooked on
methamphetamines.

The Ministry of Public Health said a nationwide survey in September showed
91 percent of the 2.65 million addicts used cheaply made methamphetamine,
known as "Ya ba," or "crazy medicine."

More common street names for the drug are speed, meth, crank, or crystal.

"The overall picture shows narcotic drugs have spread to every single
village of the 70,000 nationwide," Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphun
said in the statement.

She said drug addicts were in all age ranges from as young as five years to
68 years old, but the most prone ages was between 15 and 24 years.

Methamphetamine pills are increasingly supplanting heroin as the main drug
produced in the infamous "Golden Triangle" region -- where the borders of
Myanmar, Laos and Thailand converge.

Thai authorities say most of the pills are produced by the United Wa State
Army, a militia allied to the Yangon government in neighbouring Myanmar.

Thailand is expected to be flooded with over 900 million methamphetamine
pills next year, 200 million more than this year, due to higher demand and
new plants in Laos.

Sudarat said the survey showed the two least popular drugs now used were
heroin and opium.