Yunnan province, where I currently live, has an issue with illegal drugs. Google it. The issue is so sensitive that Richard and River both told Gareth and me not to even mention them around anybody but them. A large percentage of the drugs in China comes through Burma, which Yunnan shares a 1,000+ mile border with. The border is incredibly porous and various rebel groups occupy the area, running drugs, guns, and other illegal goods from Burma into China. One of these rebel groups is the United Wa State Army. Wikipedia tells us, "The UWSA is said to be the largest drug-producing organization in Southeast Asia." Basically, don't screw with these guys. It will end poorly for you.
Dazhai is less than 100 miles from the Burmese border, but don't worry -- I have not had any scary experiences with armed men. I am yet to see any Chinese trying to sell illegal goods (besides the numerous advertisements for guns and drugs in the cities). The streets aren't filled with hallucinating Chinese, or hallucinating Chinese water buffalo. They are, however, lined with:
Dazhai is less than 100 miles from the Burmese border, but don't worry -- I have not had any scary experiences with armed men. I am yet to see any Chinese trying to sell illegal goods (besides the numerous advertisements for guns and drugs in the cities). The streets aren't filled with hallucinating Chinese, or hallucinating Chinese water buffalo. They are, however, lined with:
This would not fly in America.Wild growing Cannabis plants! Hanging out on the side of the road on our way to buy some furniture. This is not the only plant we saw, either. There were at least 4 or 5 others growing next to the road -- large public roads that people use every day. I even spotted one in downtown Lincang (the "big" city where we had training this summer). Yes, marijuana is illegal in China. I don't know much about Chinese laws specifically, but I do know that dealing drugs is punishable by execution (even if you're a foreigner with a history of mental illness). I've never been interested in illegal drugs, but I found it so shocking/weird to see this stuff just growing like any other plant.
After seeing these plants, Gareth and I began to ask Richard and River about drug education in China. What they said reminded me of (what I know about) DARE -- "They are very dangerous, stay away from them, and just don't do them. Otherwise your life will be ruined." I have to say, for the amount of pressure that Chinese kids face, I'm surprised that they don't turn to drugs more often. Maybe it's because they're too busy doing homework to think about drug use. When we saw the pot plants, neither Richard nor River understood why we were shocked. I'd never seen one in real life, but I assume almost all adult Americans have some idea of what a pot leaf looks like. The Chinese fellows had no idea what marijuana looked like. This is either a good thing (if they don't know, how could they identify it it and use it?) or a bad thing (if they don't know what it looks like, how can they avoid it?). I'm sure this is an issue drug educators in the US have to consider, but I'd hope they go with the "knowledge is power" viewpoint.
According to this (biased) site, there's not even enough THC in the wild Cannabis to get high (scroll down to "'Marijuana' in Yunnan"). However, locals in some areas of Yunnan, especially Dali, have take up the harvesting of wild Cannabis to sell to foreigner tourists. You wonder how this has affected the local economy. Is it good to be known as a vacation spot for pot smokers and get money, or have a clean town that attracts fewer foreign dollars?
Some more interesting facts about the Yunnan drug problem (from this site). Don't quote me on the accuracy of these figures, but they should give you the right idea about the situation in Yunnan:
- "Half of China's registered drug addicts are in the Yunnan province, near the border of Burma, Laos and Vietnam, where drugs are smuggled and heroin and opium are cheap and plentiful. Until the mid-1990s, drug deals where performed openly in Kunming where China White sells for $12 a gram. In Ruili on the Burmese border it sells for only $5 a gram."
- "By some estimates 20 percent of China's illegal drug traffic passes through Lancang Prefecture in southwest Yunnan" [note: this is about 10 hours south of me by car]
Just like in other parts of the world, though, Yunnan's drug issues don't stem mostly from the recreational use of marijuana. The more serious issues come about because of "harder" drugs like heroin and opium. No matter what you think of drug laws or your opinions on recreational drug use, though, you have to admit that it's a little strange to see pot plants growing on the side of the street.
Note: for some reason, Google is sending a ton of traffic to this page. Be sure to check out my "Greatest Hits" posts and my post on how to use 糟糕. Enjoy!
hi! random stranger admitting to reading your blog. i'm considering CEI and discovered your site with a quick google search of "CEI, fellowship, yunnan, blog". hope you aren't freaked out to know anonymous people read your posts. i promise i'm not a stalker.
i find your updates incredibly entertaining. love the excessive use of puns!
by the way, even in Berkeley we don't have marijuana plants grown openly in public. yunnan is so progressive. har har.
Hey Victoria,
Glad to hear you're interested in CEI! It's really an awesome experience. Just sent you an e-mail, too.
-Tom