YabaтАж(crazy medicine)
If you donтАЩt think youтАЩre being affected by Yaba, youтАЩre missing the boat. If the information IтАЩve been gathering is correct, thereтАЩs a 70% probability that your Thai boyfriend is on Yaba and youтАЩre probably not aware of it.
According to the experts (if there are any on the subject), Yaba was originally manufactured by the Nazis to help keep their troops awake for days, Yaba has become increasingly popular in the Far East amongst claims that the drug is now bigger than heroin in Thailand. According to other reports IтАЩve read, Yaba usage in Thailand has increased 1000% over the past 3 years to become the KingdomтАЩs #1 problem effecting society.
Yaba is a derivative of synthetic amphetamines such as speed and can be manufactured far more quickly and easily than traditional forms of amphetamine.
There doesnтАЩt seem to be a consistent description of ingredients and effects, although, most reports state that the drug is mostly methamphetamine, running 80% pure with much of the cut being castoff from heroin production
The drug usually comes in pill form (often red/orange, sometimes green) and with its potent mix of visuals and intense highs, with the producing areas straddling the borders of Thailand, Burma and LaosтАжthe infamous Golden Triangle.. The side effects include an intense hallucinogenic effect and can keep users awake for days on end, although some users have reported that the only visuals come as a result of sleep deprivation after binge sessions. If you ever questioned how the boys can stay up literally all night, and sometimes several nights in a row playing cards games, Yaba could very well be the stimulus.
Yaba is highly addiction, and regular use of the drug has been linked to lung and kidney disorders, hallucinations and paranoia. A frequent hallucination is 'speed bugs' or crank bugs' where users believe that bugs are crawling under their skin and go loopy trying to get them out. In Thailand, the number of students entering rehab to deal with Yaba addiction has risen by nearly 1,000% in the past two years (source: Observer 17.10.99). Those coming off the drug are also susceptible to severe depression and suicidal urges.
According to my bf Su, who is a recovering Yaba addict, the most common pills being sold in Pattaya are the red colored ones, and they sell between 200тАУ300 baht per pill. He also said that thereтАЩs as many boys selling Yaba as there are using it on the streets, and itтАЩs as easy to buy as a pack of cigarettes. Considering the sheer volume of Yaba flowing down to places like Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket, it appears (IMO) to be nearly impossible for the bar owners to deal with it effectively. Evan if a bar owner institutes strict policies against their staff using it, many of the managers and mamasans, who in turn would be needed to enforce the policies, are users themselves.
Su was arrested twice within a 60 day period for failing the тАЬpee testтАЭ, and was still permitted to return to his workplace. Some of you may remember that huge police raid in Sunee Plaza back in the September, 2007 timeframe, where the BIB hauled off dozens of working boys from several of the most popular bars along Soi Sunee. Well, my little honey was one of them. He never returned to work after that incident, although itтАЩs not because the bar wouldnтАЩt have allowed him to return, as conversely, they offered him his job as waiter back the same day he was released from the monkey house. It was because he simply had enough. At least thatтАЩs what IтАЩm hoping for.
It wasnтАЩt until after SuтАЩs first month of recovery from Yaba that the real truth started to surface regarding his addiction. When I first dragged him out from behind the bars of the Pattaya Police Station, he told me that he had only been using Yaba for about 6 months, and that his usage was limited to once or twice per week. Minimizing is just one of the colorful characteristics of a drug addictтАжrationalizing, intellectualizing, and just flat out denial, being a few of the others. After spending his first 30 days of recovery back living on the farm with the family (and yours truly)тАжseveral sessions with the village monkтАжseveral lectures by the family eldersтАжand a normal balance of food and sleep for that period, the truth finally started seeping out.
He dropped his first hit of Yaba during his first month on the working scene in Pattaya and continued using it at increased frequencies since that point. So the 6 months that he first stated тАУ was actually 3 years. He went on to describe the effects of the drug, as well as the severe depression that inevitably follows. The more I learned about the тАЬeffectsтАЭ of this deadly drug, the more fearful I became. So many things started to fall into place, which, before his disclosure to me, had me totally baffled, e.g., his rollercoaster mood swings, crying spells, money lies, etc., all became crystal clear to me. Hell, before I just chalked this stuff up to the fact that he was a ladyboy (tongue in cheek) The fearful part for me is not knowing for sure if he can make to road to recovery. According to all my reading on the subject, someone put a number out there of 70% of those addicts who will, after a short attempt at recovery, return to use it again, and I have no reason to doubt that assumption.
If there is a support system for the young Yaba addicts in Thailand, than itтАЩs somewhere hidden well beyond my capacity to discover. Since my bfтАЩs problem first surfaced, IтАЩve done everything from questioning medical staff at both; the Pattaya General Hospital, and Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, the Pattaya Police Chief, several Thai university professors, and most importantly, the addicts themselves, and my conclusion isтАжthere is absolutely no support system in sight.
Most Thais believe that almost any problem in life can be dealt with through the family and the local temple. Believe me, IтАЩm not cutting the Buddhist monks short on their talents for understanding deep and complex human problems, but there needs to be more. If Yaba addiction is ranked as the # 1 problem effecting the youth in the Kingdom, then whereтАЩs the solution? WhatтАЩs even more puzzling, where are the attempts for a solution. The # 1 problem facing the society in the entire Kingdom, and you canтАЩt even find a brochure on the subject. When these young people get released from the hospital emergency room following a suicide attempt due to Yaba addiction, theyтАЩre lucky if the doctor even tells them not to use it any more. ThereтАЩs no written literature to give them to help close the knowledge gap тАУ no support hot lines тАУ no AA or NA Group interactions тАУ no nothing. ItтАЩs literally - out-the-door. The same lack of social responsibility exists within in the legal systemтАжthatтАЩs if you can even call this corrupt and chaotic cartoon тАЬa system.тАЭ
Su has now been recovering for 2 ┬╜ months. Fortunately, he has a strong family support system, which includes a mother and two grandmothers who can take turns holding onto his ears, a large loving family, a small group of village monks who understand the situation, and, last but not least, that Playstation2 game I gave him to keep him busy at night. With a little luck, the passing hand of Buddha and a good tail wind, he just may make it. As much as it pains me (in oh so many ways), I won't be hanging my hat at the condo in Pattaya on a full-time basis as I have consistently for the past 9 years, and will instead, be traveling between Su's village near Si Saket and a few other places we plan to visit. We'll visit PTY several times I'm sure, although will have to change our life style patterns considerably. We both have great friends in PTY who we'll want to see, although, as Su as addmited, many of those past friends, unfortunantly, will have to be off the list.
If Su has a compulsion to stay up all night getting rushes - I'll be right there entangled with him and give him all the rushes he wants...LOL.
Mai pen rai
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Originally Posted by Dodger
