Life after Opium in the Hills of Thailand

This article uses a case study to describe the human ecological crisis among Thailand's former opium-producing hill-tribe minorities. Development projects in the country's northern highlands replaced opium with alternative cash crops and reduced opium production to a trickle during the final decades of the 20th century. When they were cultivating the illicit drug, Thailand's hill tribes were a focus of strong interest by the international news media and foreign governments. The spotlight on the hill tribes dimmed quickly after opium production virtually ended and the various replacement projects closed. Now, the news media will occasionally report in glowing terms about hill-tribe farmers' successful cultivation of opium replacement crops. Nevertheless, to an informed observer visiting a hill-tribe village, it is clear that the new “opium-free” economy is barely functioning in Thailand's northern highlands. Additionally, hidden largely from view are poverty-related social problems such as drug trafficking, heroin addiction, prostitution, and AIDS.