Viroj Sumyai does not play a direct role in cracking down on drug problems in Thailand, but on the international scene, he has a big voice.
UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) president Viroj Sumyai is against the idea of using state-produced methamphetamine pills to weaken drug networks' business.
He is among a small number of Thai drug experts who have been appointed as a member of the UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and, since May last year, has served as INCB president, the first Thai to get the job.
In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Mr Viroj said the situation in parts of Asia, including Thailand, is now "critical" and many solutions to the problem are "not always effective".
The former assistant to Thailand's Food and Drug Administration secretary-general said he bases his perspective on a bird's eye view of the problem rather than a close-up look at its prevalence.
The spread of methamphetamine, locally known as ya ba, has led to an intense war between authorities and transnational drug traffickers and their sales agents.
"These speed pills are the most severe drug problem in eastern and southeastern Asia," Mr Viroj said, adding the epidemic has also reached Oceania and other parts of Asia.
His concern is clearly seen in Thailand, which has become one of the battlefields between drug gangsters and state authorities.
The war caught the media's attention, with the amount of seized drugs highlighted in their news reports. Crackdowns have led to the confiscation of several millions of methamphetamine pills, yet there is no sign that their spread will come to a halt.
The situation in Thailand is so severe that some officials once made a highly debatable proposal to "legalise" methamphetamines pills. The plan is aimed to put a brake on their spread by having a state agency produce speed pills itself and sell them at low prices.
Drug addicts who are being treated will be the main target.
"Such a proposal should not go ahead. It's not right," Mr Viroj said.
Methamphetamine substances are strictly controlled under an international agreement which only allows for their use for scientific purposes.
Even applications in the medical field are prohibited, not to mention recreational use among humans, he said.
Though the proposal was aimed to use cheap drug prices as a weapon to hinder the money flow to drug smugglers and traders, this economic approach has many flaws.
"I have to say this idea came out of narrow thought without considering the international rules," Mr Viroj said.
After learning of the idea, Mr Viroj said he cannot help thinking that people's voice has been ignored because it seems the government "gives a toxin to people".
Experts in the medical and pharmacological fields all know that methamphetamine is harmful.
Mr Viroj himself is aware of its danger as he, a clinical pharmacologist specialising in drug epidemiology, has been familiar with chemistry since his study in Chiang Mai University.
"If methamphetamine pills are sold [legally], problems regarding ethics and human rights violations will follow," Mr Viroj warned.
This idea will put anti-drug officials at odds with the National Human Rights Commission which will question why the government gives toxic substances to people who are guaranteed equal access to good health, he said.
The INCB president said the methamphetamine problem has to be weeded out, but the eradication cannot be achieved by only one approach. Pricing methods alone cannot solve the problem.
Mr Viroj admitted crackdowns on methamphetamine pills, along with other drugs, particularly cocaine, pose an arduous task for all affected countries, not just Thailand.
"No single state policy will be effective enough to deal with the drugs," he said, rejecting the one-size-fits-all approach.
To better cope with the problem, the INCB recommended the government work closely with all parties to jointly study the root cause of the problem and solve it on a case-by-case basis.
Luckily, Mr Viroj said, the current problem has not developed into a more serious stage, following the production of new dangerous chemical "Carfentanil," which is said to be the most potent opioid in the world.
The chemical is usually mixed with heroin which usually leads to overdoses.
"Its mixture with methamphetamine is less serious because the two chemicals are in different categories," he said.
Carfentanil, which is smuggled into the US from Afghanistan, is considered a very serious problem by the American government. Last year, up to 10,000 Americans died of this drug, Mr Viroj said.
When mixed with heroin, "this chemical can even kill a person while he is injecting it into the body," he said.
If Carfentanil is smuggled into Thailand, attempts to tackle drug problems will be more difficult, Mr Viroj said.
The fight with methamphetamine alone is hard enough as the chemical threatens to reduce the "quality of population," a key drive in economic and social development, according to the INCB.
This chemical substance will break and kill brain cells.
The more people take the drug, the more severe impacts they will receive. Even after drug addicts receive treatment and attend rehabilitation programmes, their brains will never be the same, Mr Viroj said.
A draft narcotics code drawn up by the Office of the Narcotics Control Board which will permit medical research on the effects of cannabis on humans is expected to be put before the cabinet this week.
Mr Viroj said the government should set up a special agency to look after the use of cannabis if it allows medical use of cannabis. This agency must be in charge of licensing and controlling plantations.
"Currently, cannabis is still a Category 5 narcotics drug and plantation is prohibited. If you want to use it medically, the FDA must give permission case-by-case," he said adding the UN has no problem with such medical use but the laws must be amended in line with a country's internal convention.
At present, the INCB is working with countries to control chemicals that will be used to make methamphetamine pills and other drugs. This move to prevent drug makers from using these precursors to produce drugs is one measure to solve the problem.
The United Nations has also established the UN Office of Drugs and Crime in Thailand as another attempt to prevent and tackle drug problems.
Yet governments need to combat drug traffickers and sellers in a transparent manner, Mr Viroj stressed. Corruption by some state officials hinders and prolongs the war on drugs, he said.