1. Although the government has proved its ability to locate and destroy poppy fields, but its dedication to disbursing aid—such as might motivate the erstwhile growers to pursue other livelihoods—is more questionable. UNODC believes that less than 10% of the villages declared opium-free have received funds promised for growing alternative crops. The effects of this failure were exacerbated by the global financial crisis. Weaker demand led to a fall in farm-gate prices for legal crops, while higher input costs raised prices for household goods. As standards of living declined, the reasons to return to poppies grew stronger.
2. Methamphetamine, known in Thai or Lao as yaba, is rising sharply.
The ease and speed with which yaba factories can be assembled and relocated, combined with Laos' porous borders, makes it a cinch to evade the police. Unlike poppy plots, meth labs are not easily spotted by helicopter surveillance. So it is difficult to determine whether police are making inroads or whether factories are simply scaling up production. Nor is it possible to tell if seized pills originated in Laos or only indicted midway along their journey to markets in Europe, America and elsewhere in Asia.Read Article: https://www.economist.com/banyan/2011/07/19/a-second-wind-from-the-golden-triangle?zid=293&ah=e50f636873b42369614615ba3c16df4a
Do you have any suggested policies to Laos government to solve the opiate problems? Do you think if it is possible for Laos to implement "decriminalization"?
I agree with Victoria, it is a lot more profitable for farmers to grow and harvest poppies compared to other crops. So if the government gave these farmers more aid or implemented subsidization programs as Victoria said. This could prompt them to change back to producing other crops.
ReplyDeleteAs Victoria and Randi both said, the incentives need to change. Right now, farmers have complete incentive to produce poppy. Other subsidies for crops would help diminish production in Southeast Asia.
ReplyDeleteThis is tough, as there is so much history for growing poppies in the golden triangle. Because of this, families have been able to put food on the table through the growth of poppies for generations. Only solutions I can think of is replacing the destroyed poppy fields with profitable crops, while incentivizing the growth of these alternatives, but I'm not sure if the option was explored/emphasized yet. Tough.
ReplyDeleteI thought about this as well. It hurts to know that other crops though will most likely not bring the same profit levels as producing poppies.
DeleteI agree, but with NAFTA and other trade agreements, it's really hard to compete in a globalized world, so I think that the change should come at a supranational level
ReplyDeleteI think it is almost on the United States and other countries, whose lack of decriminalization and other drug policies have created such a large black market for these drugs to be sold in. I think if we and other countries were to implement the policies of Portugal, it would severely reduce the high demand for opium from these countries
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