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The United Nations on Friday sounded the alarm over record seizures of methamphetamine across much of Asia as the illegal drug floods streets and clubs.
Last year 227 million methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia -- up 59% from the year before and a more than seven-fold increase compared with 2008, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.
"If you look at the five year trends, since 2008 the seizures have increased pretty exponentially," said UNODC regional analyst Shawn Kelley, who said data suggest the trend has continued into 2013.
He said the "huge spike" was due to increased efforts by law enforcement agencies as well as soaring production in Myanmar and an increase in the smuggling of drugs into Asia from other regions.
Seizures of potent crystal meth also increased, jumping 12-fold in Myanmar, 10-fold in Brunei, 91% in Hong Kong, 75% in both Indonesia and Cambodia, and 33% in Japan.
In its pill form, methamphetamine -- known in Thailand as "yaba", which means "crazy medicine" -- is used both as a party drug and pick-me-up for those working long hours.
Between them China, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos seized 99% of all yaba in East and Southeast Asia, according to the UNODC report.
All countries showed significant increases on a year earlier, with Thai authorities netting 95.3 million pills -- a 93% increase -- while Chinese seizures rose 25% to 102.2 million and Myanmar's more than tripled to 18.2 million.
Much of the methamphetamine seized in Thailand is thought to be produced in neighboring Myanmar.
Before the country began opening up to the world under a new reformist government in 2011, it was believed that rebels were increasing drug production to buy weapons amid tensions with the then-ruling junta.
"But now it's still going on," said Kelley, despite ceasefire deals between Myanmar's new quasi-civilian government and many of the armed ethnic minority groups.
The drug is mostly made in isolated mobile laboratories hidden in the forests of Shan State in eastern Myanmar, which is also the second-largest global source of opium after Afghanistan.
But at least one major "fairly sophisticated large lab" was discovered in 2012, with quantities of meth suggesting "industrial production", said Kelley, adding that some well-organized groups had financing from outside the country.
In Thailand the use of methamphetamine has become a major public health issue, said Kelley, with signs that traffickers are pushing "promotional sales" of the more potent crystal meth to develop the market.
The country saw a 63% increase in people admitted for treatment for yaba last year, to 245,920. The number of those given help for crystal meth, while still smaller at 16,500, was more than double the previous year.
© (c) 2013 AFP
8 Comments
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nath
Correction - yaba is a combination of meth and caffeine, not meth alone.
Jean Val-Jean
" the “huge spike” was due to increased efforts by law enforcement agencies as well as soaring production…"
The lessons of Prohibition are still unlearned. Banning something(or some activity) only creates a black market, one run by the most violent and willing to take the risks for large profit. The War On Drugs hasn't reduced drug use, but it surely has made a lot of drug warlords a lot of money.
trinklets2
I, being from the Phils, am quite surprised why my country wasn't even mentioned. I could have been elated if I'd consider that as a sign that my country had broken off the sting of the drug market.
Bgood41
Allegedly speaking, N. Korea is leading the pack among many illegal production of meth nations in Asia. Besides worshiping dictators "Kim dynasty", N.Korean embassy across Asia maybe very busy these days. Junkies......
HonestDictator
@Jean do you have any relatives or close friends who were or are drug addicts? Legalization doesn't fix things like addiction. When you experience losing a loved one either by fatality or severe irreparable brain damage you would not even think it would solve the issue of drug abuse.
Bob Slefty
@HonestDictator : are you suggesting that the 'War on Drugs' fixes addiction? Does making criminals out of drug users solve the issue of drug abuse?
Jean is absolutely right that making all drugs illegal has done nothing to prevent or limit their use and has only served to make drug cartels enormously wealthy while year on year drug use globally continues to rise.
I'm very sorry if you yourself have lost a loved one through drugs but it's naive and misguided to believe that continuing to make drugs illegal and imprisoning or executing people because of them will do anything whatsoever to prevent those liable to addiction continuing to become addicted.
Novenachama
No one questions the severity of the drug problem and its devastating impact on society. It is becoming more severe and is now a global epidemic. The full picture is worse than most imagine. Academic results suffer and even worse drugs undermine health and destroy many peoples lives. It's very sad but as lives are lost, more people become addicted, bigger stockpiles are seized and more money is spent to combat it. There seem to be no end in sight to the drug trade. The best solution is the continuing fact based education of the drug problem especially before young people begin experimenting with drugs. The most important thing that you need to remember and have is the courage and ability to say no to the things that you are uncomfortable with doing and to things that you know aren't good for you.
nandakandamanda
Sadly Novenchama it is not quite so easy, when for example someone offers you a slimming pill. You may have no idea what it is, and what either the immediate or the long-term effects of it will be. Your immediate academic results may actually improve, convincing you that this is the way to go. Most people feel that they will be able to benefit from it, at first. The onset of the nightmare is insidious.
As to the rest of your post, yes, I agree. Education, without hysteria, with input from former drug addicts, has to be a strong weapon. Young people need to know the truth and be able to judge for themselves, even though many will still fall.