The drug has a fascination for many tourists. The common name for the region north of Chiang Mai, the “Golden Triangle”, conjures up an exotic vision of drug warlords, mule trains, field of pretty flowers and the intrigue of the opium den. In fact, the crop is a threat to all who are involved in its production or use. Amongst the Hmong, up to 30% of the male population are addicted. The typical addict will smoke twenty or thirty pipes a day. They cannot work efficiently or at all, life expectancy is reduced and families are pushed into malnutrition and misery. The production of opium has been illegal since 1959, but despite the attempts of the government to eliminate it, the drug is still produced in large amounts. However, in Thailand the size of the crop has been reduced by 80% in the last ten years, but Thailand is still an important conduit for opium from Burma and Laos, where production is still rising.

About 50% of opium is converted to the more dangerous, but even more profitable heroin. Six kilogrammes of opium can be converted into about one kilogramme of heroin. Small scale heroin “factories” are located in remote spots on or near the Burmese border, patrolled by armed guards and frequently mined. The advantages to the hill tribes of opium farming are that it has high value for small volume, it can be stored without spoilage, it is an easy crop to grow on land that would otherwise be infertile, the dealers come direct to the growers and there is no competition with lowland farmers.

Poppies and maize are usually grown in the same field. Maize is planted in April and harvested in August. In September and October the poppy seeds are sown amongst the maize stalks which protect the young seedling. The crop must be weeded several times before harvesting in February or March. A few days after the petals have fallen, the outside of the flower pod is scored with a three-bladed knife. The white sticky sap exudes from the pod and dries on its surface overnight. It oxidises to a brown gum which is scraped off with a broad bladed knife, formed into balls and wrapped in banana or mulberry leaves and buried until collection. Each pod can be tapped several times. The seeds form the most productive flowers are kept for planting next season.

Opium is the source of a wide variety of drugs given the general name of opiates. The most important include morphine, heroine and codeine. They are all powerful analgesics, but opium, heroin and morphine are all highly- addictive and tolerance quickly develops so that larger and larger doses are needed. Depression of the higher centres of the brain causes feelings of euphoria in which fear, apprehension and inhibition are reduced, the ego is expanded and there is a general sense of well-being.

The user may experience a state in between sleep and wakefulness, with vivid, usually pleasant dreams. Other less enjoyable effects may include nausea, sweating, drowsiness, mental and physical impairment, poor concentration, apathy, reduced hunger and lowered sex drive. Some individuals feel depressed, anxious and fearful. The opiates also suppress the activity of the muscles of the intestine, leading to constipation or reduced diarrhoea. With high doses the respiratory centre of the brain is incapacitated, potentially causing respiratory failure and death.

The narcotic and sleep-producing properties of opium have been known for thousands of years. The Sumerians in 500 BC were the first to record its use. The Greeks used it extensively. Hippocrates noted its effects and the Roman physician Galen was enthusiastic about its therapeutic properties. The Arabs introduced it to Persia, China and India in the early middle ages. In Europe, Paracelsus discovered laudenum, tincture of opium. Later paragoric, camphor combined with laudenum, was used to control diarrhoea. For 200 years opium was regarded as a universal panacea. Until this century it was the only effective painkiller known to western medicine, when its addictive dangers were not appreciated.

In the latter part of the 18^th century, Britain discovered a lucrative trade in opium. It was grown in British India and exported to China in exchange for gold and silver. This was used to buy tea and silks for import into Europe. The trade was controlled by the British East India Company but they did not carry the drug themselves as it was illegal in China. They used instead “country traders”, licensed by the company to bring goods from India to China. These traders sold opium to smugglers along the coast and passed the proceeds on to the East India company. Opium addiction in China became so high that in the mid 19^th century the Chinese government engaged in two “opium wars” with Britain to restrict its import. In 1860, China agreed to import the drug and impose a high tax on it. By 1917, voluntary restrictions on its production finally ended the trade on a large scale.

In the 19^th century, its use in Europe was widespread. Patent medicines contained high doses, to encourage clients to come back for more. Many prominent persons were unwittingly addicted, particularly writers and artists, who believed it increased their creative powers. In this century, vigorous attempts to restrict its use, and particularly that of its more dangerous relative heroin, have been largely unsuccessful. Heroin addiction in Asia and the West is a chronic problem, particularly since its preferred method of intake by injection has helped to spread AIDS throughout the world.

The opium and heroin trade in Thailand is largely controlled by two “armies”. The Shan State army was founded to establish an independent Shan state in Burma. The funds for its weapons and manpower are provided by the production of heroin from opium. The Shan army has attempted to extend its influence inside Thailand, meeting opposition from the former Kuomingtong (KMT) or nationalist Chinese.

Historically, the KMT controlled most heroin production in Thailand. They were the legitimate government in China before the communist revolution of 1949. Following this defeat, they fled in two directions. One group settled in Formosa, founding the state of Taiwan, still controlled by the KMT today. The other group, led by General Lee, settled in northern Thailand and Burma. Their original intention was to retake China from Mao in a two-pronged attack. This never took place, but the remnants of the army in Thailand developed the heroin trade. They were useful to the Thai government, and to the west, who were pleased to have a fiercely anti-communist and well-armed group patrolling the northern borders. They turned a blind eye to the heroin trade, which consequently expanded.