Narcotic drugs, methamphetamines in particular, and guns, when they are mixed together, are a dangerous chemistry for violence -- much worse than the combination of alcohol and guns.
Hence, from time to time, we hear reports of a man who turns into a monster when high on methamphetamines. He seizes his own child at gunpoint or knifepoint, and in some macabre cases, kills his own family without any sense of guilt.
In the case of a former policeman who went on a killing spree at a childcare centre in the compound of a tambon administrative organisation in Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Thursday, in which 37 people died at the end of the tragic drama, including the gunman himself, his wife and their young son, the perpetrator was said to have a record of methamphetamine drug abuse since high school.
He was also believed to be using the drug during his police service, as manifested in his aggressive behaviour and insubordination. An initial blood test taken after his death didn't show any trace of drug use. But a second test is underway.
Two main issues have been raised since the mass murders. One is the problem of drug abuse among the public and the police force in particular. The other is gun ownership in Thailand.
Pol Lt Col Krisanaphong Poothakool, an associate professor in criminology at Rangsit University, suggested recently that the Royal Thai Police (RTP) should have a mandatory system to make sure its officers are free from drug use. He also said it is about time society rethinks gun ownership.
In terms of drug abuse among the police, it is not an overstatement to say the RTP has no idea how many of its men and women in uniform use drugs because no system requires all police to undergo urine tests periodically, such as once every three months.
Police are in close contact with the public and they are armed while on duty. Their job also involves drug busts which give them access to the drugs and, who knows, some crooked policemen may surreptitiously pocket some of the drugs for sale or personal use.
Since methamphetamine use is widespread, especially among youth and blue-collar workers, it makes sense for the police to be subject to drug tests periodically.
The habitual use of drugs will affect the brain and hamper their decision making. Long-term abuse symptoms can include anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances, violent behaviour, paranoia, hallucinations and delusions (for instance, the sensation of insects creeping under the skin).
National police chief, Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, said the mass murders should serve as a lesson for the police force to come up with measures to prevent a repeat of such a horrific incident.
Perhaps that will end up as just another empty promise and everything will go back to the way it has always been.
Like it or not, getting rid of methamphetamines is an impossible task as the drug is known to be produced freely in the Golden Triangle area, controlled by the Wa United Army, out of reach from the Myanmar government. The Thai army, too, can do nothing to stop the Wa.
The best they can do is to try to stop drug couriers crossing the porous border which, again, is an uphill task.
Interception of precursor substances from Thailand to the drug labs in Myanmar no longer works as the drug producers have shifted to other channels to obtain the substances. Hence, the occasional seizure of several million methamphetamine tablets by Thai authorities will not have much impact on the producers.
When the drug influx cannot be successfully plugged, the government seems to lack initiatives on what to do and how to protect our young from the drug threat. This is the area which we need to examine in earnest.
Another issue we are facing is gun ownership. According to a Small Arms Survey report in 2017, there were about 10 million privately-owned guns in Thailand, of which about six million were legally registered and the rest illegal. The actual number of guns today is believed to be a few million more.
Gun control by means of import quota systems to limit the number of guns that each gun shop can import each year is just a farce because the most major importer is the government itself, the Provincial Administration Department in the Interior Ministry, through the Gun Welfare Program which has no limits on gun imports.
Any state agencies, including local administrative organisations, which want to buy guns for their staff for presumed self-defence, sports or game hunting purposes can approach the Provincial Administration Department to place their orders.
Gun shops love the programme because they can make revenue from placing purchasing orders with the manufacturers on behalf of the Provincial Administration Department whose senior officials and those high above in the Interior Ministry also cherish the programme because they, too, benefit from it.
Buyers, too, love it because they can acquire the guns at prices lower than market prices. So, everyone loves it and that is why this programme will never be cancelled.
Also, there is no limit on how many guns one can buy, provided that he/she has a clean criminal record and, of course, a fat bank account. Hence, the sky is the limit for those who crave guns for their private collections.
Controls on gun ownership recommended by some parties are likely to face stiff resistance, especially from the Interior Ministry. Gun control advocates must come up with other measures to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.
Veera Prateepchaikul is former editor, Bangkok Post.
