Yaba, a cheap and potent methamphetamine-caffeine pill often dubbed “crazy medicine”, has become one of Thailand’s most pressing public health crises. Easy to produce and widely available, yaba is used by everyone from factory workers seeking stamina to partygoers chasing a high.
With its low price, intense effects and highly addictive nature, yaba is one of the most commonly abused stimulants in southeast Asia – and its spread shows no sign of slowing. Yaba’s rapid rise over the past 30 years as a street drug marks a troubling evolution.
Originally introduced to east Asia during the second world war to enhance soldiers’ endurance, methamphetamine has become known as “nazi speed” in some circles. And what began as a wartime stimulant is now at the heart of a regional addiction crisis.
