Last month the prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, declared war on drugs, vowing to rid his country of the scourge within three months. The goal is ambitious, if not impossible. Human rights groups reportedly express fear that the campaign has become reckless and dangerous; they claim that the government has adopted a shoot-to-kill policy. Drugs are a terrible threat to society, but Thailand must endeavor, as should all countries, to ensure that the methods it uses to fight crime are not worse than the evil it confronts.

It is estimated that Thailand has 2.5 million drug users, ranging from glue sniffers to heroin addicts. Thai police estimate that 800 million to 1 billion methamphetamine tablets enter the country every year, or about 12 tablets for every Thai citizen. Hundreds of thousands of Thais are thought to be dependent on a drug known locally as "ya ba" ("crazy medicine").

In the antidrug "eye-for-an-eye" operation launched last month, Mr. Thaksin has declared war on the criminal gangs that smuggle and sell drugs, demanding that they be given no quarter. His no-compromise approach is in keeping with his persona of a "can-do" leader. It has also sparked fears that the government is encouraging a policy of shooting first -- without asking questions later -- when dealing with those suspected of selling illegal drugs.