Four Thai monks were arrested after testing positive for meth; the dismissed monks claimed it was to celebrate the Buddhist Lent, according to a report in the Bangkok Post.
The four monks from the Sisaket province in Thailand were arrested after testing positive for methamphetamine. The monks admitted they had taken the drug and claimed it was to ease body pain—and to celebrate the beginning of the Buddhist Lent. All four were immediately dismissed from their positions and sent to rehabilitation.
The incident took place on July 17, when police officers in Nam Kliang district conducted a drug raid in response to information received from concerned residents. Anonymous reports claimed that some temples in the area had become hubs of suspicious activity, with young people frequently seen entering and leaving the compounds.
Initial urine tests were conducted at two temples, where four monks tested positive. They later admitted to using methamphetamine.
One of the monks, a man in his 60s, told authorities that he suffered from chronic pain that conventional treatments had failed to heal. He said he had decided to try meth—took two pills—both as a remedy for the pain and to mark the occasion of “Khao Phansa,” or the Buddhist Lent. The monks are now being transferred to a hospital for rehabilitation, in coordination with local authorities.