Crystal methamphetamine being sold on the streets of Phnom Penh (Photo: Vinh Dao/IRIN)
Addicted to crystal methamphetamine, 24-year-old Thom has been living on the streets of Phnom Penn for four years (Photo: Vinh Dao/IRIN)
"In 2000, when the substance users first started using drugs, it was sniffing glue. Now, over the years, 'meth' has become easily available and turned into the new gateway substance for street kids."
PHNOM PENH, 21 August 2008 (IRIN) - Shirtless, with crude tattoos and scabs on his upper arms, 24-year-old Thom has been living on the streets of Phnom Penh for the past four years, one of a growing number of youths struggling with their addiction to crystal methamphetamine, also known as “ice”.
Typically smoked, the potent central nervous system stimulant is highly addictive, causing paranoia, delusions and hallucinations.
According to an annual narcotics report released on 12 August by the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD), use of “ice” is on the rise even though illicit drug use in Cambodia is stabilising, and drug related arrests in 2007 were over 50 percent down on what they were in 2006.
Working with the NACD, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) compiled data from the Ministry of Interior and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the drug sector.
The report gives a comprehensive picture of illicit drug use, and on a smaller scale evaluates the reliability of the routine surveillance systems being employed.
Traditionally a drug-trafficking route in southeast Asia, the report says that for the first time Cambodia has emerged as a possible methamphetamine producing country.
Drug raids
Earlier this month, anti-drug police raided a clandestine drug lab on a cattle ranch in the province of Kompong Speu, about 81km southwest of Phnom Penh.
No drugs were found, but the NACD identified chemicals used in the two-stage process of manufacturing methamphetamine, known as the “Emde Process”.
“There is a level of sophistication evident from the Kompong Speu raid that is a bit disturbing. Because we only found the first stage of production there, we suspected that there was another facility nearby,” Lars Pederson, head of UNODC in Cambodia, told IRIN.
Drug experts estimate that, based on the materials found at the site, several million doses of methamphetamine could have been produced.
Four foreign nationals along with 14 Cambodians were arrested. One of the foreign nationals arrested, a Chinese national, had been detained at Phnom Penh International Airport in October 2002 for smuggling 10kg of palladium which is an integral ingredient in the second stage in the “Emde Process”.
He was later released as the importation of palladium was not controlled at the time in Cambodia, but he never returned to claim the unpaid duty on the substance. Soon afterwards, the Cambodian government placed palladium on the list of controlled substances.
Another indicator that Cambodia has emerged as a producer of methamphetamines was the arrest of the leader of a methamphetamine tableting operation in August 2007.
At a site in Phnom Penh, military police found a variety of illicit drugs. During the raid, military police also found a rotary tableting machine with the capacity of producing 10,000 methamphetamine tablets per hour. Such a machine had never been seized by officials in Cambodia before.
“These two raids highlight the risk of industrial-sized drug producing capability in Cambodia,” Pederson said. “This showed a level of sophistication in the manufacturing process, which included multiple production locations and logistics.”
New drug of choice
The NACD report also says there has been a shift in usage, mainly by Cambodian youth who have switched from glue-sniffing to “ice”.
In 2000 a survey produced by Mith Samlanh, a local NGO that rehabilitates street children in Phnom Penh, found that 12 percent of street children were using methamphetamines. By 2007 the number had jumped to 87 percent.
In 2000, when the substance users first started using drugs, it was sniffing glue. Now, over the years, `meth’ has become easily available and turned into the new gateway substance for street kids.
But what is more alarming is the increase of methamphetamine use among street children aged 12-18, while usage among those in those aged 19-25 declined over the same period.
“In 2000, when the substance users first started using drugs, it was sniffing glue,” said David Harding, technical adviser for drug programmes at the NGO Friends International. “Now, over the years, `meth’ has become easily available and turned into the new gateway substance for street kids.”
“We are now starting to see small numbers of kids at the age of eight using meth,” Harding added.
Rehab centres
NACD Secretary-General Lour Ramin said the government was now adjusting its tactics and focusing on arresting drug dealers, while referring illicit drug users to rehabilitation centres.
One such rehabilitation centre, Korsang, run by a risk reduction NGO specialising in injecting drug users, is where many go for treatment for their addiction.
Thom said he has been going to the facility for six months in the hope of kicking his methamphetamine habit.
“I had problems with drugs for many years. Now I am here at Korsang to try to cut down my drug usage,” he said.
A group of about 30 youths mill around the centre, illustrating the problems Cambodia currently faces with illicit drug use. But there is a glimmer of hope for the youth of tomorrow as stated by Sophea “Wicket” Heng, director of Korsang: “The government is catching onto the problem and is working with grassroots agencies and local authorities to tackle the problem.”
