DRUG LAW ISSUES: STUDY OF THE USE AND POSSESSION OF AMPHETAMINE AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Abstract

The Objectives of this research article were to study problems of drug law related to people using and possessing amphetamine and its derivatives, including criminal measures, enforcements, and reasonable punishmentsfor these people based on the comparison of Thailand’s and international drug laws.Theresults will be presented as a suggestion for related drug law improvement to be more appropriate.Theinformation in this qualitative study was researched from documents, textbooks, theses, research reports, articles, laws, including searching the Internet bycomparing Thailand’s and international drug laws in order to optimize the law.The findings revealed that the problems of drug law related to amphetamine and its derivatives in Thailand owing to the change of amphetamine and its derivatives from psychotropic substances in category 2 to narcotics in category 1. In contrast, the Portuguese Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany prescribed them as just psychotropic substanceswithout applying criminal punishment to the drug users and possessors of amphetamine and its derivatives. This was different fromThailand’s drug law whichstipulatingimprisonment punishment for using and possessing. It did not conform to the principle that considered drug users as patients receiving treatment. Therefore, the amphetamine and its derivatives should be changed to psychotropic substances in category 2 and replaced the criminal punishment with other measures.