Drug use spreading in northern Ye Township

March 13, 2015

In the villages of northern Ye Township, drug use has been spreading. HURFOM spoke to residents of Magyi village, where widespread drug use is reported to have begun in 2013 and increased year upon year.

Magyi village medic, Nai Chatchan, explained, “In this village, there are three or four houses that sell drugs, but we don’t know how many people per house are [drug] users. [Drug use] is spreading throughout the whole region. Although some villagers want to report this issue to the authorities, they are concerned about their safety, as it seems like the whole village is using drugs.”

The majority of drug users in Magyi village are reported to be under the age of 20. However, drug use among over-20s is also noted to be on the rise. Mostly, people are reported to be taking drugs in the form of pills, using sites for drug-use that include farms and monastery toilets. Due to problems with drug use, there are fears in Magyi that the village’s youth are becoming out of control.

Other villages in northern Ye Township, such as Koe Mile and Khawza, are reported to suffer from a similarly large number of drug users. However, in these villages their problems appear more widely under control, given the fact that their village chairmen have shown concern about rising drug use. While the people of Magyi village wish to combat drug use, they say that they have lacked such support from village leadership.

“Once, a medic from the MMA gave a training on drug use in our Mon National School” continued Nai Chatchan, “The training was about the impact of drug use, such as how it can affect our education, health, and lives. They gave out posters.But the village chairmen do not do any activities to help reduce drug use.”

Nai Chatchan concluded, “For me personally, I would like to get rid of all drugs.”

Deficient government anti-drug efforts have facilitated an expanding drug trade and use, and works to encourage individuals to experiment with drugs without fear of legal consequences. According to HURFOM’s records, nearly 40% of youth in Ye Township, Mon State are addicted to drugs.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News