Thailand is the country with the fastest cannabis legalization processing in recent years. In April 2020, former Minister of Commerce Sontirat Sontijirawong emphasized that "cannabis is Thailand's future economic crop." However, Taiwanese police officer Lin Yuexian observed that in 2018, after the opening of license for medical cannabis, holders to grow and sell hemp in 2020, the trade-in hemp between Taiwan and Thailand is showing significant signs of increase, putting pressure on the effectiveness of police enforcement.
Golden Triangle: Produced in Myanmar and Exported from Thailand
Lin Yuexian, the police liaison officer of the Criminal Police Bureau of the Ministry of the Interior in Thailand, came to Thailand in 2018. It happened that the Thai Parliament passed the legalization of medical cannabis. Since Thailand allowed medical cannabis years ago, the proportion of smuggling cannabis from Thailand has increased.
In addition, in 2020, the authorities will open the license holders to plant, sell, and export hemp products. The smuggling situation may become more severe in the future.
"Three Regardless Zonetransporting and exporting" in the Golden Triangle, produced in Myanmar and exported from Thailand
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The "Golden Triangle" is the border of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. It is also the most significant drug producer in Southeast Asia. However, with the sudden "changes in the political and economic situation, the Thai government vigorously wiped out the forces of various drug lords. According to Lin Yuexian's observation, there are almost no poppies grown in Thailand. The raw materials are mainly developed and manufactured in Myanmar aYuexian'sd into heroin, ketamine, and amphetamine-based first-class drugs. "Thailand's role in the drug industry chain is mainly " to foreign countries, such as from the pier in Bangkok."
Al"Thailand'sug manufacturing in Myanmar is controlled by warlords, who then purchase weapons through drug trafficking. "Their weapons "re more advanced and powerful than the government army," said Lin Yuexian. Therefore, the government can't control it wants to. For residents, they must also rely on cultivation for a long time. It is like a drug village.
Lin Yuexian's work is mainly about transnational cooperation in investigating cases. Due to mainstream drugs such aYuexian's ketamine and amphetamines, smuggling into Taiwan through Thailand still accounts for a certain proportion. The governments of Taiwan and Thailand will be impressed by the end of 2020. At that time, I received intelligence that a Taiwanese "ordered" the Golden Triangle drug cartel, so he relayed the news to the Thai police. In the end, the two countries cooperated to seize 20 kilograms of heroin and 200 kilograms of ketamine each.
However, as the Thai government intends to legalize cannabis gradually, it will become a more significant challenge for Taiwan and Thailand to help each other fight crime.
Thailand is gradually legalizing recreational cannabis, which can be grown and added to food.
Thailand is the fastest country to loosen cannabis control in recent years: after passing the legalization of medical cannabis in 2018, Thailand allows licensees to grow, sell, and export industrial cannabis (also known as hemp, which is one of the varieties of cannabis with low THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content).
At the beginning of this year, the opening of the Thai government has entered the consumer side; catering companies can use the roots, stems, leaves, and extracts of hemp for cooking and beverages. The first hemp beverage store, "420 Cannabis Bar," opened in Bangkok recently. A cup of CBD (cannabidiol) beverage, priced at about $2, attracts a large crowd of pilgrims ges.
Thailand's "imetable for loosening cannabis use regulations
2018 | Legalized medical cannabis. |
2020 | Permit growers can grow up to 6 hemp plants per household. |
2021 | The roots, stems, leaves, and extracts of hemp will be released, which can be used in cooking, beverages, cosmetics, etc. |
Lin Yuexian said that "beverages but al"o cosmetics containing hemp ingredients have appeared one after another. The economic beneThailand'sThailand'sfits of the cannabis cultivation industry are enormous. The market research company, "Prohibition Partners" estimates that the value of the Asian medical cannabis market will reach 5.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.
Althoug" Lin Yuexian pointed"out based on the information in his hands that after Thailand opened up cannabis, the number of domestic cannabis users showed no signs of a significant increase. It has increased the space for legal and possible illegal trafficking. In 2020, the amount of illegally smuggled exports seized exceeded 40,000 kg, a record high. Invisibly, it exerts pressure on the effectiveness of Thai police law enforcement.
According to the Ministry of Justice statistics, the number of Thai cannabis smuggled into Taiwan from 2018 to 2020 was zero, but 2.6 kg was seized from January to August 2021. Lin Yuexian is worried that the two countries' economic, trade, and sightseeing activities have always been frequent. The greater the pace of Thailand's opening up, the situacountries'legal smuggling into Taiwan may become more severe in the future.
But as far as the Thai governThailand'sncerned, no matter how the people like to use it, whether it is a proper use or not, the most important thing is to fight for the economy, which is even more critical.
Cannabis Crop Saves the Economy, Thailand Plans to Open Up Recreational Cannabis
The Corona Virus has invaded the world for nearly two years. The pandemic has severely hit the tourism industry that Thailand depends on for its livelihood. To fight for the economy, Lin Yuexian revealed that the Thai government is studying the legalization of cannabis for recreational use, hoping to use cannabis to regain its former tourism power in the post-pandemic era.
He believes that although the Thai government's attitude towards the use of cannabis for entertainment may seem ambiguous for the time being, it may be similar to the long-sgovernment'sic industry. "It is not legally allowed, but the government may choose to open one eye and close one eye."
The epidemic slows down sooner or later. Thailand will permanently loosen border controls one day. The channels through which cannabis flow" into Taiwan will become more diverse as people connect. In addition to air and sea parcels, passengers who are willing to take risks carry cannabis. Entry will be a big test for the domestic anti-drug system.
Six Significant Systems Are Responsible for the Anti-drug Task
The domestic anti-drug case handling system is divided into six major systems: the investigation bureau of the Ministry of Justice, the prosecutor, the police department of the Ministry of the Interior, the military police command of the Ministry of National Defense, the Maritime Patrol Department of the Marine Commission, and the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance. It has been seven years since Ke Jianzhi joined the Third Investigation Team of the Criminal Police Department (from now on referred to as the "Three Investigation Teams") and has seized large and small drug cases. He said that in addition to information exchange when there is a shortage of workforce, the military police will also assist us in following the prison, or make a visit."
Ke Jianzhi pointed out that cannabis flowers and cannabis seeds are hidden in general commodities such as clothes and food and then delivered in packages, which are more common cannabis smuggling methods. He believes that cannabis seeds are more accessible to hide than cannabis flowers, which are more difficult to find. Although the Customs Administration and the Marine Patrol Administration have tried their best to do an excellent job of checking, some fish will inevitably slip through the net.
Canadian Teachers Arrested for Growing Cannabis Plants in Taiwan
In 2019, Ke Jianzhi and his colleagues went to the residence of a Canadian cram school teacher in Taoyuan to investigate and seized 163 live cannabis plants and 893 grams of dried cannabis flowers. At that time, Canada had legalized recreational cannabis, and everyone could grow it at home. Below are four cannabis plants. "He's calm that he thinks that growing hemp is the same as growing tomatoes."
Recalling the process of solving the case at that time, Ke said that at the beginning, after the Taipei City Police Department adjusted the information with the logistics company, police discovered that the suspect had purchased seeds and inhalation equipment abroad, so he provided the information to the drug investigation center, and then police carried out the investigation. The three teams are responsible for inquiries. "It is not enough to rely on the criminal police station. It must cooperate with other agencies."
As long as the domestic law does not allow cannabis, we will arrest them.
The Canadian English teacher was later"sentenced to two years in prison by the Taoyuan Diyuan by the Drug Harm Prevention and Control. However, the judge considered him serious in teaching and was praised by students and parents, but he was not deported. Ke Jianzhi emphasized that he knows that some people and groups continue to promote the legalization of cannabis. However, the Prevention and Control of Drug Harm Regulations still regard cannabis as a secondary drug, even though many countries abroad have legalized medical cannabis. But our police act by the law. As long as we violate domestic regulations, we will immediately enforce the law."
"Blue Collars Consume amphetamines. White-Collar Smokes Marijuana."
After seven years of anti-drug work, Ke Jianzhi found that amphetamine and heroin are more likely to be associated with gangs and trials. "Because addiction is relatively high, there is a demand for addiction, and they have money to make." He revealed that these two kinds of "rugs are mainly smuggled and imported finished products from abroad. There are also raw materials drug-producing" that are shipped to Taiwan before being processed and sold.
In September 2020, a bus in the Neihu District of Taipei City caused one death and one injury to passers-by. After investigation, the police found that the driver had taken amphetamines. According to the annual report of the Ministry of Health's "Drug Abuse Cases and Inspection Statistics," 30.8% of the population notified of drug abuse in 2020 are engaged in industry, and the top 5 most commonly abused drugs are heroin (50%) and amphetamines ( 36.4%), ketamine (4.2%), cannabis (2.3%), benzodiazepine-based sleeping and tranquilizers (2.1%).
"Amphetamines do often appear in the blue-collar class. They work long hours and need to be refreshed," Ke Jianzhi said.
Cannabis shows a different situation. Ke Jianzhi's experience tells him that people who smoke cannabis are usually white-collar workers and have higher education levels. The low crime rate of amphetamines and heroin is due to the relatively low addictiveness of cannabis. "Once the other two become addicted, it is easy to commit crimes to buy drugs."
Anti-drug Rethinking: Dealer is as Important as the Source
In the first half of 2021, the Ministry of Justice seized more than 9,219 cannabis plants, more than three times (314.7%) more than the same period in 2019, the highest number ever. Therefore, the Ministry of Justice called out "Declare war on cannabis" and listed emerging drugs and cannabis as one of the top anti-drug targets.
Shao Zhongzheng worked as an investigator at the Drug Enforcement Center of the Police Agency, responsible for planning drug control measures and collecting information. He believes that cannabis has been spotted along with emerging drugs because it sprang up quickly.
According to the National Chung Cheng University Crime Research Center, the so-called emerging drugs are not "newly invented" but "newly misused." Shao Zhongzheng said that the "coffee bag" that often appears on news pages is one of the emerging drugs. ""It is to pack different drugs in a coffee bag in powder form and then drink it with water." Shao thinks this kind of drug will quickly invade the campus.
In response to the domestic control of drug abuse, the Executive Yuan proposed the "New Generation Anti-drug Strategy 2.0" in 2020. It is estimated that approximately 15 billion yuan will be invested from 110 to 103 to cut off through a cross-ministerial, cross-regional, and cross-domain overall combat method. Logistics, flow of people, and money flow strive to achieve the overall anti-drug goal of "cutting off the three flows of drugs," such as "tracing drugs, chasing people, and cutting off money flows."
In the past, the thinking of investigative agencies was mainly based on quantity. Still, Shao Zhongzheng said that the government is also reflecting on it, emphasizing "equal attention to the number of people": "Only investigating the quantity, the supply will still be available." While seizing the case, he took the initiative to trace the source and outlined the case since he was small, hoping to catch the drug head and interrupt the supply chain. Ke Jianzhi also agrees with the traceability approach, "In fact, every major case is developed from a small case."
"Government and Police Cannot clear drug Demand."
Although the government's anti-narcotics system is vigorously scavenging drugs, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice, the total seizures of various types of drugs in the past ten years have increased from 2340.1 kg in 100 to 9476.5 kg in 108, the highest in ten years, despite the total seizure in 109. There was a slight decrease, 8155.5 kilograms of drugs. Still, overall, the complete episodes of various medications have shown a continuously increasing trend. According to the Ministry of Health statistics, the number of drug abuse cases reported by multiple agencies (institutions) is from 104 to 109; overall, the number of abuse cases is still rising.
Reports of drug abuse cases by various agencies (institutions) from 2015 to 2020 in Taiwan
2015 | 12,334 people |
2016 | 14,541 people |
2017 | 16,537 people |
2018 | 17,000 people |
2019 | 17,470 people |
2020 | 15,186 people |
The drug trade cannot be "cleared." The drug in Taiwan even tends to multiply. Ke Jianzhi admits that drugs are unlikely to get rid of the root cause because the underlying interests are too large. "There are not only gangs and drug dealers in Taiwan, but also abroad." Shao Zhongzheng also said that most drugs are addictive; as long as they become addictive, consumer demand cannot disappear.
However, in the face of increasing numbers of enemies, and the difficulty of handling cases, will the anti-narcotics unit feel discouraged?
Ke said that investigating drugs is not easy. "But we won't overthink. Since you are in this industry, you will catch it if you violate the law." He said Every time a drug is successfully executed. I feel unspeakable because it means that I have the responsibility of the police: reducing crime and maintaining public order.
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