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 Narcotics addiction is rife among the gem scavengers or "handpickers"
who flock to the northern township of Hpakant, producer of some of
the world's highest quality jade, in hopes of finding lumps of the
precious stone overlooked by big miners.
But the gems elude many of them. Some start using heroin to help
survive the harsh working conditions, often openly injecting
themselves, and others even contract HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS.
"I do want to quit drugs at the moment," said 25-year old Phyo Nyi,
who was introduced to drug use by a friend five years ago. "If I can
quit this, I am going to find gemstones. That's what I want to do."
Activists worry about the growing number of serious drug users,
especially the young, and say the Myanmar authorities lack the will
to tackle the issue.
"The authorities are saying there are no more drugs in Kachin
state," said Naung Latt, a member of the region's Anti-Drug Action
Group.
"But all young persons are drug victims now. Most of the state
school students above grade six are using drugs and some are
injecting themselves."
A presidential spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for
comment on the issue.
Resolving the issue will be a thorny task for the government led by
Suu Kyi, whose party election manifesto made only two fleeting
references to narcotics..
Even under an NLD government, the military will retain formal
control over the ministries of defense, border affairs and home
affairs - all crucial to counter-narcotics efforts.
Most drugs are produced in border areas controlled by ethnic rebel
armies or by the Myanmar military and allied militias.
The boom in Hpakant's population coincided with an exponential rise
in opium production in Myanmar, the world's second-largest producer
after Afghanistan.
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Heroin, an opium derivative, is cheap and widely available in Kachin
State, and Hpakant's workforce seems to run on it.
Myanmar produced an estimated 647 tons of opium in 2015, second only
to Afghanistan, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
said on Tuesday.
That figure was steady from the previous year, as was the total area
under opium poppy cultivation, which stood at 55,500 hectares (212
sq miles) in 2015, the UNODC said.
Aid workers say their effort to rein in disease includes hiring drug
users to earn a few dollars by collecting used syringes in a
disposable box.
"Before, I thought only people of Kachin and Shan ethnicity were
using drugs," said activist Naung Latt. "But there are now many
people who come from different parts of the country, using drugs and
losing their lives."
(Writing by Andrew Marshall; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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