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BURMA'S HEROIN ADDICTS ARE PLAGUED BY CHEAP DRUGS AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES
By Tyler Stiem Sep 14 2014
“Rehab is great. It gives you a rest. It clears your mind,” says Kan Char, his voice softening to a slur. To celebrate a successful two-week stint at a drug rehabilitation center in Myitkyina, the dusty capital of Burma’s Kachin State, he has treated himself to enough heroin to last all day. Dressed in a navy polo and khaki trousers, he stands out among the raw-boned men and furtive teenagers at the needle exchange where we meet.
“I’m not an addict, though,” he says, rubbing his hands together. As proof, Kan Char (not his real name) tells me he’s always managed to juggle his drug habit with work and school. For the past two years, since graduating from university with a psychology degree, he has earned a living as a motorcycle mechanic. He resents the fact that he can’t find work in his field, but here in northern Burma—where unemployment exceeds 50 percent and addiction rates aren’t far behind in some towns and villages—finding, and keeping, a job of any kind is no easy feat.
“The problem with most people is that they have nothing to do. Everybody is bored, everybody is angry. They start using drugs, maybe opium first, then straws [heroin sold packed into drinking straws], and soon they’re hopeless cases.”
The 26-year-old has a strategy for managing his habit. Shooting up is reserved for special occasions. He shows me his arms—I can see a bruise forming where he injected a few minutes ago, but there are no scars. The rest of the time he smokes, because smoking heroin is less addictive. When his drug use starts to get out of hand, he goes (or gets sent by his grandmother) to rehab.
“It works for me. I start feeling lost, I go,” he says, his eyes beginning to droop. “But it doesn’t work for everybody. And besides, there is not enough room [in the treatment centers].”
Continued http://www.vice.com/read/burma-heroin-rehab-tyler-stiem-307
By Tyler Stiem Sep 14 2014
“Rehab is great. It gives you a rest. It clears your mind,” says Kan Char, his voice softening to a slur. To celebrate a successful two-week stint at a drug rehabilitation center in Myitkyina, the dusty capital of Burma’s Kachin State, he has treated himself to enough heroin to last all day. Dressed in a navy polo and khaki trousers, he stands out among the raw-boned men and furtive teenagers at the needle exchange where we meet.
“I’m not an addict, though,” he says, rubbing his hands together. As proof, Kan Char (not his real name) tells me he’s always managed to juggle his drug habit with work and school. For the past two years, since graduating from university with a psychology degree, he has earned a living as a motorcycle mechanic. He resents the fact that he can’t find work in his field, but here in northern Burma—where unemployment exceeds 50 percent and addiction rates aren’t far behind in some towns and villages—finding, and keeping, a job of any kind is no easy feat.
“The problem with most people is that they have nothing to do. Everybody is bored, everybody is angry. They start using drugs, maybe opium first, then straws [heroin sold packed into drinking straws], and soon they’re hopeless cases.”
The 26-year-old has a strategy for managing his habit. Shooting up is reserved for special occasions. He shows me his arms—I can see a bruise forming where he injected a few minutes ago, but there are no scars. The rest of the time he smokes, because smoking heroin is less addictive. When his drug use starts to get out of hand, he goes (or gets sent by his grandmother) to rehab.
“It works for me. I start feeling lost, I go,” he says, his eyes beginning to droop. “But it doesn’t work for everybody. And besides, there is not enough room [in the treatment centers].”
Continued http://www.vice.com/read/burma-heroin-rehab-tyler-stiem-307
