Opium Smoking Customs of the La Hu in the Border Communes of Muong Te District, Lai Chau Province

Abstract

This article provides first-hand data and documentation of opium smoking and its impact on the lives of the La Hu; and               socio-economic development as well as social security maintenance in the border communes of Muong Te district, Lai Chau province. The author points out that the La Hu people have long-standing practices on  opium cultivation and smoking. However, these practices have diminished since the central government issued the law of prohibiting drug cultivation, use, transport, storage and sale. Nonetheless, these practices  strictly pose a dilemma, creating many difficulties and challenges in social management, especially management by different agencies of drug-related crime and resolution of related social and other implications and problems. Based on an understanding of the factors underlying the persistence of La Hu opium cultivation and smoking, the author has proposed a number of measures to limit opium smoking among this ethnic group.