Thailand faces the worst drug situation among all Asean nations and efforts to rehabilitate addicts have failed, Justice Minister Paiboon Khumchaya has said.
The Bangkok Post quoted him as saying that the drug situation in Thailand was more serious than previously thought of.
The country was now a "narcotics hub", the minister said after presiding over the opening of a drug addiction rehabilitation facility.
Citing figures, he said Thailand had 1.3 million drug addicts, about two percent of the total population.
Of this, about 250,000 had been jailed while the rest were out of reach, he said.
But some who undergo rehabilitation still return to drugs, he added.
Thai addicts are mostly among the young. The youngest addict recorded was seven years old.