The stoners of Yangon have been fiending for over a week after the city’s supply of imported marijuana slowed to a trickle, and they blame the turmoil to the west.
“No more dope in Yangon,” said one local youth on Monday. “We couldn’t get for like five days already.”
When asked why the generally steady stream of weed had stopped, one group of enthusiasts said it was because of a “closed border” and “a war with kalar,” using the Pali-derived Burmese word that is often used to describe dark-skinned people, Muslims in general or Rohingyas in particular.
The stoners said they were able to buy homegrown weed from Shan State but chose not to because of its inferior quality.
It is difficult to confirm whether the recent military activity in northern Rakhine State has disrupted the cannabis trade in Myanmar, but the claim is consistent with a general understanding of what is happening in the area.
Myanmar closed its border with Bangladesh shortly after a series of attacks on three Border Guard Force installations that left nine police officers dead on October 9. Tatmadaw troops have since poured into the area and arrested dozens of Rohingyas and killed several others. Bangladesh has also intensified security measures on its side of the border.
However, there could be other explanations.
According to the cannabis seed company Sensi Seeds, most of Myanmar’s weed originates in four districts in India’s Manipur State, which borders Sagaing Region and Chin State, and seeps into Myanmar where borders are weak. Myanmar’s border with India also closed in early October when a member of an Indian separatist group was fatally shot on the Myanmar side of the border.
There’s also the possibility that the current weed shortage is a symptom of something other than ethnic or international conflict.
While the underground nature of the drug trade may prevent us from learning the true effect of Myanmar’s geopolitics on the local weed scene, we can at least take this as a reminder that people in all walks of life have their eyes on the Rakhine situation and are hoping for a peaceful resolution.
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