Police in Meung district, Bokeo province, have cut down opium poppies being grown on 3,200 square metres of land, in compliance with the government’s national agenda on tackling the drug problem and the order of the Governor of Bokeo province.

A field of opium poppies in Bokeo province.

The poppies had been planted by people living in Huanamkha village in a remote location but were discovered by local authorities who ordered that they be cut down.The provincial committee in charge of drug suppression was also obeying the orders of the highest level of Party leadership in a bid to stamp out drug production and abuse in Laos.

Elsewhere, authorities in Viengphoukha district, Luang Namtha province, last month cut down 15 hectares of opium poppies found growing on 47 separate plots of land.

Officials from the province’s Narcotics Inspection and Control Department, together with soldiers from the National Defence and Security Force in Viengphoukha district, wiped out the crop, which had been planted by people living in Namvang, Namtalaeng and Namlor villages.

The harmful effects of opium were clearly explained to the landowner so that he and villagers would be deterred from growing poppies and causing more addiction.

The police have called on people from all walks of life to share in efforts to stamp out drug production, abuse and trade, as mandated in the government’s national agenda aimed at freeing society from this terrible scourge.

Also last month, police in Huaphan province cut down five hectares of opium poppies found growing in Xamneua district. The owner of the land was counselled about the illegality of the crop and the dangers associated with opium use.

Police issued warnings to those who had planted the crop and explained the regulations banning poppy cultivation, which have been introduced in an attempt to slow the drug trade in Huaphan province.
The government has made clear its intention to wipe out the cultivation of opium poppies, but the crop continues to be planted covertly, especially in the north of Laos.

In other attempts to curb the production of opium, officers from the Department of Drug Inspection and Control under the command of the Xieng Khuang provincial police force, together with police in Phoukoud district, last month cut down poppies growing on an 11,000-square metre plot in ​​Phoukoud district.

Also last month, officials from the Luang Namtha Police Department cut down opium poppy plants found growing on 2,950 square metres of land in Namkhoun village, Luang Namtha district.
Local authorities are encouraging villagers to grow other crops instead, so they can earn money through legal farming activities, and also take up livestock farming to augment their income, so that they live within the law.