Does anyone have their hands on this study to send to the [him] moderator so he can distribute it?
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Drug addiction on the rise in Kachin State
Khun Sam
Irrawaddy
6 September 2006
http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=6138&z=154
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Drug addiction is increasing in Kachin State, according to a forthcoming community-based study, which says that more than 60 percent of users are between the ages of 15 and 40.
The 19-page Kachin language study—the title translates to “Let’s Prevent the Use of Drugs”— was conducted by the Kachin Consultative Assembly, based on interviews with local communities, NGOs and religious leaders. It aims to highlight the growing problem of drug use among Kachin youth and is expected to be released later this month.
“We have found that 66 percent of youth in Kachin State, particularly in the age range from 15 to 40, are involved in narcotic uses,” said Maran Zau Nan, head of the KCA, about the report’s findings. Some 80 percent of these users are students.
“We would like to highlight the drug addiction problem among youth in Kachin State because it is increasingly rising to the level of deep concern,” Maran Zau Nan said.
The group suggests that increased drug use in Kachin State is linked to an increase in drug production—specifically opium—in the region, where access to illicit drugs has become easier. Another factor, according to the group, is a growing alienation among young Kachin due to high unemployment throughout the state.
While opium is said to be widespread in rural Kachin State, several other drugs—including heroin and methamphetamines—are readily available in urban areas such as Myitkyina, the capital, where the state’s main university is located.
“Many kinds for drugs are widely used among university students, and they are easily obtained on the outskirts of Myitkyina as well as in some coffee shops downtown,” Maran Zau Nan said.
A 2005 opium survey prepared by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime found that opium poppy cultivation in Kachin State had increased in recent years, though it had fallen in other regions of Burma.
