Getting ready to burn the 20 tons of smuggled opium. The opium was taken from the 93rd division of the Kuomintang in exchange for the rights for them to stay at Doi Mae Salong, Mae Fa Luang District, Chiang Rai. The opium was burned at the Border Patrol Police Region 2 base at the Dararasami Camp, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai.
Somdej Krom Phraya Damrongrajanuphap had stated that opium was brought into Thailand along with the Chinese immigrants who came and settled in Thailand since the King Rama III period. The Chinese were addicted to opium after it was introduced by the British who brought it in from India to sell it to the Chinese.
The government was against opium and had long since tried to eliminate and wipe out the opium dealers and addicts. One attempt was made by King Rama IV who restricted the trade and smoking. Only the Chinese were allowed to smoke opium. Thais were forbidden to sell or smoke it. During the 1920s the government reduced the number of stores that sold opium and limited the amount of opium the government sold to smokers.
A large number of Chinese in Chiang Mai, mostly the ones who moved in from Bangkok, were opium addicts. The local government allowed them to smoke only in the registered opium dens. The three legalized dens were Tong Heng on Thapae Road (opposite to Lao Chow alley), the one behind the San Pa Khoi Market near Kawila Camp and the one at San Sai Noi.
In 1959, the Revolutionary Council Announcement of December 9, 1951, stipulated the ban on the smoking and sales in the kingdom to be effective on January, 1 1959. The announcement made all opium trading and smoking illegal. The government officials arrested all dealers and smokers, closed down all dens and burned all opium smoking equipment throughout the country.
As opium became popular not only in Thailand but also world wide, smuggling and illegal trade spread everywhere. Chiang Mai was one of the opium transporting routes to different places because the major opium production plants were located in the Golden Triangle. The trade brought in a huge amount of profit to the dealers. It became an organized crime with backup powers from some mafia groups and some corrupted government officials. Thus, in many cases of drug arrests, government officials were found to be involved.
Opium was not as popular after the end of WWII for newer kinds of drugs such as heroin and amphetamines had taken its place.
References
Anu Noenhad, Pol. Lt. Col. (2007). Sapa Rueang Kao (Miscellaneous stories of Chiang Mai in the past ). (in Thai).
Retrieved April 8, 2007, from http://www.thainews70.com
/index-culture-arnu.php
Surangsri Tansiangsom. (1977). Historical information collection project: problems and policy concerning opium. (in Thai).
Bangkok: Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University.
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