All monks of a temple in Thailand tested positive for meth

A Buddhist temple in Thailand was left without monks after they were all dismissed for failing drug tests.

There are so many news stories about Buddhist monks violating monastic rules that the government has set up a hotline to allow citizens to report bad monks:

A hotline to denounce bad Buddhist monks in Thailand

A small temple in central Thailand was forced to defrock its monks after they all tested positive for methamphetamine on Monday, November 28.

Four monks, including the abbot, from the temple in Bung Sam Phan district, Phetchabun province, tested positive for drugs, said Boonlert Thintapthai, district official.

Location of Bung Sam Phan on a map of Thailand

The monks were defrocked and sent to a clinic for detoxification treatment, the official said.

» The temple is now empty of monks and neighboring villagers are worried they won't be able to perform merit ceremonies », the official said.

The merit-making ceremony involves devotees giving food to monks as a good deed.

Every morning at dawn, Buddhist monks walk through towns and villages to receive offerings from devotees.

A Thai woman makes offerings to a group of monks.

This practice is considered fundamental to the Buddhist religion.

Boonlert said more monks would be sent to the temple to allow villagers to fulfill their religious obligations.

Thailand is a major transit country for yaba, a methamphetamine that has been a major problem for the country in recent years.

See: Ya ba: Lives destroyed, prisons overcrowded: the hidden cost of methamphetamine in Thailand

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, methamphetamine continues to flow from Myanmar's Shan State, embroiled in unrest, via Laos.

On the street, yaba pills can be sold for less than 20 baht ($0.55).

Yaba (methamphetamine) pills seized by police in Thailand

It is estimated that billions of yaba pills enter Thailand each year.

Authorities across Southeast Asia have made record methamphetamine seizures in recent years.

Last year, Thai authorities seized a single shipment containing nearly €87 million worth of methamphetamine.

The drug was contained in 161 white silicon plates bound for Taiwan.

The total weight of the drug shipment was 897 kg.

See: 897 kilos of methamphetamine bound for Taiwan seized in Thailand

See also:

The fortune of a former Buddhist monk turned transvestite intrigues Thais

A Buddhist monk was selling firearms online in Thailand

Drunk monk arrested driving a Pick-Up in Thailand claims alcohol protects against Covid-19

Source: Bangkok Jack