The United Nations sounded the alarm yesterday over record seizures of methamphetamine, with the drug flooding streets and clubs in Asia and enticing a new generation of users.
Last year 227 million methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia — up 59 percent from the year before, and a more than seven-fold increase compared with 2008, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.
"If you look at the five year trends, since 2008 the seizures have increased pretty exponentially," said UNODC regional analyst Shawn Kelley, with data suggesting the trend continued into 2013.
He said the "huge spike" was due to increased efforts by law enforcement agencies as well as soaring production in Myanmar and an increase in the smuggling of drugs into Asia from other regions.
Methamphetamine can be ingested, smoked, snorted and injected.
In its pill form — known in Thailand as "yaba", which means "crazy medicine" — it is used both as a party drug and pick-me-up for low paid workers with long hours.
In China, methamphetamine is the second most popular drug of choice among the country's more than two million registered users, after heroin.
Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/11/09/meth-boom-sweeping-asia/
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