ASSUMPTION UNIVERSITY – THAILAND Local Director: Dr. Preecha Methavasaraphak He is the Director of the Research Institute at Assumption University, Thailand, where he has been a faculty member since 1995. He completed his Ph.D. in Statistics and Social Sciences Research at Magadh University, India, and his Certificate of Advanced Studies in Education Management at Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Throughout 24 years he has been actively engaged in both scholastic and applied research. He also teaches research methodology to postgraduate students and is a guest speaker at a number of research training events. One of his main research interests is in the field of drug use/abuse. He was commissioned to conduct evaluation research on the Thai Government’s anti-­‐drug projects. He specialised in policy research and conducted drug policy trend analysis in the Ninth National Economic and Social Development Plan. He also studied the implementation of drug prevention programs in schools and higher educational institutes. His recent research is “Studies on Policies and Practices in the Field of Drugs Use/Abuse: The Catholic University in Dialogue with Political and Social Actor”. Drug Situation in Thailand Drug problems in Thailand have long been the national agenda. Despite the government’s effort in fighting against drugs, Thailand’s drug situation remains alarming. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) 1
estimated that in 2011 the number of drug abusers in the country was 1.2 – 1.5 millions . Numbers of drug cases and quantities of seized drugs have steadily increased (192,091 drug cases with 205,424 drug offenders in 2011, compared with 183,110 drug cases with 197,921 drug offenders in 2010, and 177,106 drug cases with 191,498 drug 2
offenders in 2009). Ya-­‐ba or Methampheta-­‐
mine-­‐type stimulant tablet is the type of drugs that has been trafficked and abused the most in Thai-­‐land: among the 192,091 cases arrested in 2011, 157,733 cases were rela-­‐ted to ya-­‐
3
ba (the quantities seized were 53.3 million tablets in 2011 compared with 54.1 million tablets in 2010 and 27.4 million tablets in 4
2009 ). Apart from ya-­‐ba, there were also seizures of ICE (crystallized methamphetamine), dried marijuana, Kratom plant, heroin, ketamine, ecstasy and cocaine. The total numbers of drug treatment attendants recorded in 2010 were 120,153 of which 76,141 treatment attendants were in the compulsory system, 28,953 in the 5
voluntary system and 15,059 in the correctional system. According to the Thailand Narcotics Control Annual 1 Office of the Narcotics Control Board (2012) Thailand Narcotics Control Annual Report 2011. Bangkok: ONCB, p. 20. 2 Ibid., p. 46. 3 Ibid., p. 48. 4 Ibid., p. 48. 5 Office of the Narcotics Control Board (2011) Thailand Narcotics Control Annual Report 2010. Bangkok: ONCB, p. 74. Report 2010, most drug abusers were children and juveniles between the age of 12 and 24 and of male gender. Three main factors contributed to their use/abuse of drugs were unemployment, family involvement in narcotics and recreation practices. National Drug Policy in Thailand Historically, Thailand’s drug policy has prioritised the criminalisation of drug users/abusers and relied heavily on a law enforcement approach to counter illicit drugs. The most important drug control laws in force in Thailand are the Psychotropic Substances Act, B.E. 2518 (1975), the Narcotics Act, B.E. 2522 (1979) and the Narcotics Control Act, B.E. 2519 (1976). All of these acts give police and other competent officers powers of search, seizure and arrest. More recent drug policy seeks to incorporate both supply reduction approach and demand reduction approach. The Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act, B.E. 2545 (2002) provide alternatives to incarceration for some drug offences. Thailand’s drug policy is Source: Thailand Narcotics Control Annual Report 2011 Currently, implemented under the drug control (Office of the Narcotics Control Board, 2012: p. 47) strategy, “Kingdom’s Unity for Victory over Drugs”. The strategy was introduced in the early September 2011. The National Command Centre for Drug Elimination (NCCDE) has been established in the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) to implement the strategy. Suggested Bibliography -
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Methavasaraphak, Preecha (1997) Community Consciousness Process for Personnel Development: A Case Study of Drug Prevention in Petrol Stations. Bangkok: Centre for Business and Social Sciences Research, Assumption University. (Thai language) Methavasaraphak, Preecha et al. (2009) Drug Use/Abuse: Policies and Policy Implementation in Higher Educational Institutes in Bangkok. Bangkok: Research Institute of Assumption University. Wongswadiwat, Jirawat et al. (2000) Drug Prevention in Educational Institutes under the Ministry of Education. Bangkok: Research Institute of Assumption University. (Thai language) Wongswadiwat, Jirawat and Methavasaraphak, Preecha (1996) Project Evaluation: Communities Fight against Drugs. Bangkok: Centre for Business and Social Sciences Research, Assumption University. (Thai language)