ລາວໂຮມລາວ ເພື່ອປະຊາທິປະໄຕ

Photo: Contributor/IRIN

Yabaa is sold in tablet form

VIENTIANE, 15 July 2011 (IRIN) - An upsurge in drug trafficking in Laos is fuelling the potential for drug abuse among the youth, the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision (LCDC) warns.

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Representative to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Leik Boonwaat, told IRIN the Lao People's Republic was facing "an unprecedented increase in trafficking of methamphetamine", with rising use of the highly addictive drug.

Methamphetamine seizures in the country soared from one million tablets in 2008 to more than 24 million in 2010, according to UNODC. The agency's June 2011 World Drugs Report said 95 percent of those seeking drug treatment in Laos in 2009 had methamphetamine problems.

Phanthavy Bounmany was 17 when he first used methamphetamine, known as yabaa, or "crazy drug" in Lao and Thai. "I got addicted, but not seriously at first. I would use it once every couple of weeks," he said. "But it became much more serious over time."

Phanthavy broke his habit through repeated stays at Somsanga Treatment Centre on the outskirts of the Lao capital, Vientiane, where he now works to help other addicts.

"I was brought [to Somsanga] by my family. Many people helped me, and I decided that I had to fight the drug with them," he said.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93232