PLANNED DRUG LAW IS TOO OPEN TO ABUSE

I'm a little nervous about this new law labelling suspects with 15 or more
amphetamine pills on their person as drug dealers.

I am all for destroying the drug trade. However, I shudder to think of how
many poor souls will have a packet of pills placed in their car by police
officers looking for either a pay-off or revenge.

I know people that it has happened to who made a pay-off to avoid being
tagged with a driving under the influence arrest. Just imagine what the
police can demand from some unwitting individual who suddenly finds that he
could be facing a drug dealer prosecution.

It seems that there are a lot of scary new laws coming out of Bangkok these
days. All have one thing in common: They are designed to punish the people
at the bottom of the ladder rather than the top. Let's hope Thailand
survives them.

John Arnone
Yasothon