Ya ba
recreational drug
Ya ba (Thai: ยาบ้า, lit. 'mad
drug') is a drug containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine. It was formerly known as ya ma (Thai: ยาม้า; lit. 'horse drug'). Although it is illegal, it has considerable use in Thailand.
Names
The drug has gone by various names across time and locations.
In Thailand, it went by ya khayan ('hard-working pill'), then as ya maa ('horse medicine'), and then ya ba ('crazy pill') in 1996. According to an episode of the television series Drugs, Inc., it is commonly referred to in north Thailand as chocalee, due to its alleged sweet taste and chocolatey smell. In Myanmar (formerly Burma), it is also called kyethi (literally, 'button'), athi, and palarkar. In Malaysia it is known as pil kuda (literally, 'horse pill'). The name commonly used for it in the Philippines and Indonesia is shabú. The name commonly used for it in China is ma-goo or ma-guo.
The public source identifies “Ya ba” as recreational drug. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around recreational and drug.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ya ba”, the useful work is to connect “recreational drug” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2292614. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1996.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ya ba”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ya ba primary sources, Ya ba archive and recreational research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Ya ba” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.