Can Myanmar meeting stop the tide of meth ‘flooding’ the Asia-Pacific?
- Record seizures have been reported in 2018, already surpassing the 70,000kg of methamphetamine intercepted last year
- This oversupply is making the drug accessible to more people – mainly youngsters – who could not previously afford it
Methamphetamine production and trafficking in Asia has reached “alarming levels”, according to experts, as seizures this year have already surpassed records set in 2017.
Top officials from 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific are meeting in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, from Wednesday to Friday to discuss the deteriorating situation and negotiate new strategies to tackle the problem of synthetic drugs.
“We are seeing an oversupply of meth as organised crime is flooding the region with it, pumping out excess supply with the purpose of building the market [and] the demand,” said Jeremy Douglas, a Bangkok-based regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, who is joining the meeting.
This oversupply is making the drug accessible to more people – mainly youngsters – who could not previously afford it, the expert told the South China Morning Post.
“Several governments are telling us that it is now available in places that it was never found before and at prices never seen before. It’s literally in front of people and at prices they can afford. That’s a very dangerous combination,” he said.
Consumers can now find yaba – pills made from methamphetamine and a combination of other stimulants – for as little as US$1 to US$5, down from US$5 to US$15 in 2014. A similar decline in the price of crystal meth has also taken place across region.