Meth (Yaba) Boom Sweeping Asia

[JaiRai]

http://news.yahoo.co...-075613807.html

 

"The UN estimates that heroin and methamphetamine generate sales of at least $30 billion in Southeast Asia and China annually. Methamphetamine is thought to account for around $16.5 billion of that -- a sum that exceeds the annual economic output of Cambodia.

 

In Thailand the use of methamphetamine has become a major public health issue, said Kelley, with signs that traffickers are pushing "promotional sales" of the more potent crystal meth to develop the market.

 

Thailand saw a 63 percent increase in people admitted for treatment for yaba last year, to 245,920. The number of those given help for crystal meth, while still smaller at 16,500, was more than double the previous year.

Drug use among young people aged 15 to 24, manual labourers and farmers has "increased significantly", according to the UNODC report.

 

Secondary school and university students were also increasingly using both yaba and crystal meth -- also known as "ice"."