Week 3: “The Opium Must Flow:” Exploring the History of Myanmar’s Drug Trade

Michael Z -

Welcome back everyone! I am still in Manila but I’m very excited to be going to Singapore this Friday. For this week’s travel-related fact I thought I’d mention the extremely strict drug enforcement laws in Singapore. Executions have been a common punishment for those caught with as little as 500g of cannabis or 15g of heroin, even in the modern age (including recent death penalty decisions). 

 

Why, you ask? In a lot of Asia, especially nations in the east and southeast, drug addiction and drug trafficking aren’t just a personal health issue, it’s a historical issue that many Asian governments believe is indicative of deeper social strife. Going further with this aspect of the drug trade, today I thought we’d explore the history of the drug trade in Southeast Asia (whereas the last few weeks I’ve talked a lot about Colombia), specifically Myanmar, and how that connects to the modern-day drug syndicates I’m researching. 

 

Much like the Colombian drug trade, the drug trade in Myanmar, at first, focused extensively on one specific drug. Opium. The key historical drug from which Myanmar has become a drug hub was traded extensively by the British East India Company into China in exchange for highly valued commodities like tea or fine China.  

 

In essence, to get the goods they want, “The Opium Must Flow” – the British, probably. 

 

In order to expand opium production, the British expanded opium fields from India into modern day Myanmar near the Chinese border. Why there? Here’s a quick checklist. Prime growing Conditions for poppies (opium comes from poppies)? Check. Close to China (the main market)? Check. Poor locals who needed a source of income? Check again. By virtue of geography, northern Myanmar was perfect for opium. Throughout the 1800s (including 2 Opium Wars), the British profited massively by forcing opium into Chinese markets and onto millions of opium addicts the British themselves created. 

 

However, the sun eventually set on this part of the British Empire, and a small conflict known as World War 2 completely changed the major nations in the region. In particular, post-WW2, the Chinese Civil War ended with the Nationalists losing (anti-communist, “Kuomintang” as they are called), with some fleeing to Myanmar, planning to attack now-communist China in the future. With CIA support, these forces subjugated locals and supported future drug lords while setting up drug supply chains in order to gain a foothold in the area, funding an attack that never really came together. Even as they were ordered to withdraw to Taiwan, many stayed behind to build up their wealth by participating in the ever-growing drug trade. 

 

These are just some of the major complex historical events that enabled the drug trade in Myanmar and set the foundations for the rise of modern-day criminal organizations in the area. In the coming weeks, we will also explore the more recent-history and politics that makes Myanmar so unique but also so vulnerable to criminal groups.

See you next week (from Singapore!)

 

Central Intelligence Agency. “CIF Involvement in Narcotics Trafficking.” (2012): 1-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000808060002-7.pdf


Death Penalty Information Center. “Singapore Announces Plans to Execute More Death-Sentenced Prisoners Convicted of Non-Violent Drug Offenses.” Death Penalty Information Center, August 14, 2023. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/singapore-announces-plans-to-execute-more-death-sentenced-prisoners-convicted-of-non-violent-drug-offenses

 

Lintner, Bertil. “The Golden Triangle Opium Trade: An Overview.” Asia Pacific Media Services, March 2000, https://www.burmalibrary.org/sites/burmalibrary.org/files/obl/2000-03-00-The_Golden_Triangle_Opium_Trade-en-red.pdf

 

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023: Cultivation, Production, and Implications.” UNODC Research, 2023, https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2023/Southeast_Asia_Opium_Survey_2023.pdf

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Comments:

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    ashleylee
    Hi Michael, this post is fascinating and there is much to unpack here. I am so intrigued by the Asian government's perspective as being indicative of "deeper social strife." Do you think the source of this is more on the inability to control the trafficking or is it a condemnation of addicts?
    February 26, 2025 at 8:09 am - Reply
    michael_z
    Hi Ms. Lee! Unlike in North America where I think we see drugs mainly being approached as a public health risk or as a part of the fight against poverty ("street drugs"), east Asian countries are extremely aware of the historical effects of drug addiction. Chinese and Chinese-rooted cultures especially have had an extremely painful experience with addictive drugs during the opium wars and the century of humiliation (an addicted population = weaker country = foreign subjugation), and a lot of this modern-day response is akin to the idea of "never again" (both in terms of the drugs and also submission to western powers). To answer your question, it really isn't either. It's more of a commitment to modernize and learn from the mistakes of the past, a past that has faced the deeply negative consequences of drugs and foreign interference.
    February 27, 2025 at 12:16 am - Reply
    Anonymous
    Hi Michael. To my knowledge, certain people are more genetically prone to addictions, and struggle much more to break free than others. Do you think that perhaps many of the East Asian countries have this genetic disposition in the populace, causing the seemingly more intense struggle against drug trade?
    February 28, 2025 at 11:52 am - Reply
    Brennon C
    Hi Michael, you mentioned about the severe punishments for getting caught with drugs in Singapore, and from my knowledge the drug use and overall crime rates in Singapore is a lot lower compared to other countries in Asia, like China. So, if severe punishment works, why doesn't China implement stricter laws to punish drug users?
    March 2, 2025 at 2:01 pm - Reply
    Murtada A.
    Hello Michael! This was an extremely fascinating breakdown of how the drug trade in Myanmar started. You mentioned that a lot of the drug trade that was started in Myanmar was because of influence like British colonization. Do you think Myanmar would still have become a center for drug trade without those hitorical events, or was is coming to Myanmar either way?
    March 2, 2025 at 3:24 pm - Reply
    Anna S.
    Hi Michael, you mentioned in a previous reply that addictive drugs are regarded differently in the United States and in Asian countries - what are some examples of these differences and how do you think they affect the policy decisions of these two regions?
    March 2, 2025 at 3:25 pm - Reply
    michael_z
    Hello! I don't believe I found any evidence that certain ethnic groups/races are genetically more prone to addiction, however in the US there definitely is evidence that disadvantaged ethnic minorities are more prone to addiction and drug use (though, this isn't a huge part of my research, so I encourage you to explore it more if you're interested!) In East Asia the main reason for addiction appears to be historical, as I mentioned in the post, and mostly an issue of the past. While drug addicts remain, strict enforcement means they are low in number or heavily suppressed by East Asian governments.
    March 3, 2025 at 12:26 am - Reply
    michael_z
    Hey Brennon! Welcome back. Actually, both Singapore and China have extremely low crime rates! Both nations are significantly safer than say, the United States, in a wide variety of crime metrics. Both nations have extremely strict enforcement of drug-related laws, including the use of the death penalty, and it appears to have worked. However, it should be noted, that the drugs coming out of Myanmar still either reach or transit through China and Singapore, so drug trafficking rates certainly aren't 0. As my research continues I hope to focus on how drug syndicates operate, and perhaps look at if harsh drug laws could be a part of the solution (or maybe the problem).
    March 3, 2025 at 12:32 am - Reply
    michael_z
    Hi Murtada! That's a great question; however, the truth is we probably won't really know for sure with these "alternate history" questions. In my opinion, without the British Empire essentially becoming the world's biggest drug trafficking ring, opium would not be nearly as prevalent in China and East Asia, and perhaps opium farms would never have expanded to Myanmar. However, where there is money, there are people willing to make money, and it's still entirely possible even without the British there would be groups using Myanmar's geography and growing conditions to grow drugs to make a profit.
    March 3, 2025 at 12:34 am - Reply
    michael_z
    Hello Anna S. I think the perfect answer to your question is in an American view on drug laws in many Asian countries. The Asian application of the death penalty for drug offenses deemed "minor" in North America, like being caught with small amounts of drugs, is often seen as cruel or offensive by those in the west, whereas in Asia they seem quite reasonable and normal. One source I saw linked this to many Asian cultures having an emphasis on family and societal responsibility, and the government needing to punish threats to social stability harshly as a deterrent. Therefore, in Asia, governments are less motivated by western interpretations of "leniency" and "rehabilitation," instead doing everything they can (harsh penalty) to preserve the well-being of their communities through protection of social stability.
    March 3, 2025 at 12:44 am - Reply
    Asher
    Great article! How did the British East India Company's expansion of opium production in Myanmar influence the region's socio-economic landscape, and what long-term impacts did this have on the local population and their involvement in the drug trade?
    March 3, 2025 at 11:45 am - Reply
    michael_z
    Hi again Asher, that's a really good question, and I think I discussed it a bit in my post. Essentially, the British were one of the biggest reasons why locals in Myanmar (especially in the so-called "golden triangle") area turned to the drug trade in the first place. They offered jobs in an otherwise poor and impoverished region, and the opium cultivation the British encouraged would be the foundations upon which the modern drug trade in the area is based.
    March 4, 2025 at 6:09 pm - Reply

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