When criminal diversion is a temporary solution: rethinking drug rehabilitation policy in Thailand
Issued Date
2022-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
10345329
eISSN
22069542
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85142210355
Journal Title
Current Issues in Criminal Justice
Volume
34
Issue
4
Start Page
418
End Page
434
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Current Issues in Criminal Justice Vol.34 No.4 (2022) , 418-434
Suggested Citation
Chokprajakchat S., Techagaisiyavanit W., Iyavarakul T., Kuanliang A. When criminal diversion is a temporary solution: rethinking drug rehabilitation policy in Thailand. Current Issues in Criminal Justice Vol.34 No.4 (2022) , 418-434. 434. doi:10.1080/10345329.2022.2133379 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/87023
Title
When criminal diversion is a temporary solution: rethinking drug rehabilitation policy in Thailand
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
This article reflects on the need for Thailand to re-evaluate its criminal diversion policy for people who use drugs (PWUD). Although studies have examined the impact of criminalising drug use through social and economic perspectives, the issue of how a punitive legal scheme interplays with PWUD's perceptions of drug use and motivation to seek treatment has not received wide scholarly attention in Thailand. This study's primary objective is to shed light on the adverse effects of legal pressure on motivation among PWUD within Thailand's drug rehabilitation systems to assist in shaping its future policy. The study employed a qualitative methodology: in-depth interviews with 69 participants who received drug treatment under the voluntary and compulsory drug diversionary systems in Thailand, as well as 50 government officials and personnel at the administrative and operational levels within the Thai criminal justice system and rehabilitation agencies. The study found that criminalisation schemes can impede system-level rehabilitation goals by failing to recognise the personal needs of participants, with PWUD entering treatment programs only to avoid criminal prosecution.