Police nab drug users for wrong reasons: support groups

Nearly half of the 252 IDU surveyed said police has planted drugs on them and claimed that they had to pay bribe to the police to avoid arrest.

"This form of drug planting was found to be associated with numerous health-related harms including syringe sharing and drug-related overdose," said Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG) and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (Vancouver, Canada), in a statement released Thursday.

"Further, half of those IDU who reported having had drugs planted on them by police said they paid a bribe in order to avoid the arrest.

The average amount of money paid to police was Bt5,000, which is nearly a month's pay for entry level police officer.

The study suggest that this form of police misconduct may be occurring partly because police are working to meet drug user arrest quotas set by governments within Thailand.

The fiindings indicate that IDU who reported having drugs planted on them were twice as likely to report having been in government-run compulsory drug treatment programs.

"This form of abuse of power by police has many dangerous consequences," said Paisan Suwannawong, one of the investigators and TTAG's executive director.

TTAG runs Mitsampan Harm Reduction Center where the research was conducted.

"Our research findings reflect what those of us with direct experience know all too well: injectors will lend and re-use dirty needles, and risk overdosing, when rushing injections in an effort to avoid police.  Also, these punitive tactics used by police may discourage IDU from accessing much needed HIV prevention and treatment services," Paisarn said.

The two organisations called on the authorities to take urgent action against corrupted officers and to move away from "excessive reliance on enforcement to a health-focused approach, such as through improving access to voluntary and confidential drug treatment centres instead of forced centres."

"People who use drugs, like all people, have a right to be healthy but our study makes it clear that in the present environment, where forced drug treatment and other punitive, repressive and illegal acts are committed against them, it is quite impossible," said Dr. Thomas Kerr, director of the Urban Health Research Initiative of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.