Ya Ba - Appearance and Use

Appearance and Use

Yaba is typically produced in a round pill form. There are many different versions of Yaba and the most common are colored in red, orange or lime green and carry logos such as "R" or "WY". They are small and round, roughly 6 mm in diameter (similar size to Smint but round), which means they can be packed inside a regular drinking straw for easy transportation. Or in a reusable 'mint' container.

Quality varies according to source, most are smoked "chasing" on aluminum foil or inside covers of cigarette packs: placing part of the pill on aluminum foil and inhaling the fumes through a straw as a lighter slowly heats the aluminum foil. It is also common to simply swallow the drug in pill form; this method lengthens the duration of the drug to between eight and 16 hours, as compared to one to three hours when smoked, and reduces the intensity considerably. Strength varies and the active ingredient is Caffeine and Methamphetamine. Worth to mention are that the duration of the peak is what was mentioned before (8-16 hours/1-3 hours) which is followed by at least 6-10 hours of a come down were you have difficulties to sleep or eat, many users report that it takes them up to 24-hours after consumption to be able to fall asleep.

Yaba is not common to inject as the intravenous users use the pure product instead (methamphetamine - called 'ice' in S.E Asia). This illegal drug is especially popular in Thailand, where it is imported from Burma or Laos even though it is sometimes manufactured locally in Thailand.

The typical Yaba user are working males aged 16-40 years old and its use is widespread amongst both female and male prostitutes in Thailand and Cambodia.