Development Not Drug Control: The Evolution of Counter Narcotic Efforts in Thailand

Abstract

In the 1960s, Thailand was the biggest opium producing country in the world. This article presents Thailand's evolving strategy in solving the problem of illicit poppy cultivation through poverty alleviation and long-term national development. It argues that the root causes of drug crop cultivation and proliferation are poverty, insecurity, and the lack of livelihood opportunities for marginalized communities. Thus, the problem is more a 'development problem' rather than a 'drug problem,' requiring the addressing of multi-dimensional human development facets in response to the geo-socioeconomic conditions of the area. The "Thai approach" is focused on improving the overall well-being of communities, before rule of law can be strengthened, and is very importantly part of long-term broader national development plans. A brief close-up is provided of an example of Thailand's long-term development project, the Doi Tung Development Project, to explain more concretely how Thailand's approach to solve drug crop production translated into practice. Some of these lessons learned from Thailand can and have been shared with the international community in shaping attitudes and policies to drugs and development that are more people-centered, balanced, and sustainable.

From Illicit to Value Added: The Lessons of Community and Institutional Change in Northern Thailand’s Opium Growing Regions

“…Simply removing illicit opportunities in the absence of licit ones without any 'proper sequencing' is therefore not a viable long-term development strategy [11]. Finally, the NDD School advocates a holistic, problem-solving, development approach, recognising the centrality of identifying and addressing the root causes of the emergence and persistence of illicit drug economies, the complex structures created by prohibition, and the systemic barriers illicit drug economies pose to linear processes of development and peace building [8,9,12].…”

Addressing Coca-Related Deforestation in Colombia: A Call for Aligning Drug and Environmental Policies for Sustainable Development

“…Their narrow scope, however, soon proved ineffective as the projects did not address broader sustainable development challenges such as ' enhancing governance and security, respecting human rights, and fostering women's empowerment', or environmental concerns (Brombacher & David 2020: 66). The learnings of some South American and Southeast Asian governments -most notably Thailand's experience from its successful elimination of opium poppy cultivation (Diskul et al 2019) -often supported by European countries such as Germany or other international donors, have been brought together in the principles of the Alternative Development approach.…”

“…This means allowing farmers several years to prepare for crop eradication by establishing a stable income alternative first and letting the effect of development interventions unfold before the illicit crop is eliminated. Another fundamental requirement is to ensure active participation of the communities throughout the entire transition process (Diskul et al 2019). In line with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the multidimensional approach emphasizes integrating any measure into existing policies promoting gender equality, human rights standards, good governance, security, land rights, and environmental sustainability (BMZ 2020;Diskul et al 2019;UNODC 2015).…”

Addressing Socio-Environmental Challenges and Unintended Consequences of Peruvian Drug Policy: An Analysis in Two Former Cocalero Valleys

“…4 Conceptual approaches to AD have shifted from a focus on drug crop substitution to a broader sustainable development scheme aimed at changing the economic structure of drug crop producing areas (see Alimi 2017;Brombacher & Westerbarkei 2019). For additional perspectives on the evolving nature of the AD concept and its successful implementation see Alimi 2019;Brombacher & Westerbarkei 2019;Diskul et al 2019;Diskul et al 2021. 5 Even in regards to the most recognized success story of long-standing alternative development in Thailand, Anderson (2017) argues that while this process helped to eliminate opium cultivation and improve the socio-economic conditions of the affected population, it had great cultural costs for hill tribes (Anderson 2017: 57).…”