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Article: Opium growth and addiction soar in Laos: Locals, Western tourists use drug.(World)(Briefing/Pacific Rim)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- May 2, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Richard S. Ehrlich recently spent 2 1/2 weeks in the Southeast Asian nation of Laos, including a trek on foot and by riverboat from the Chinese border to the Thai border.
BA WAI GAU, Laos - An Akha tribesman, curled on the bamboo floor of a mountain hut, stuck a tiny volcano-shaped plug of opium onto a crude pipe, set it ablaze from an oil lamp and inhaled. As the flame caused the drug to sputter and melt, spewing its coveted smoke, the addict's repetitious draws on the pipe sounded like bursts of harsh static in the otherwise silent hut.
After finishing the pipe, the tribesman fiendishly grinned, exposing teeth reddened by chewing betel nuts. He ...