Myanmar's Poppy Industry (02:43)

FREE PREVIEW

Over the mountains from the tourist destination Inle Lake lays an opium region that the government wants to keep secret. Myanmar is the world's second largest heroin producer after Afghanistan.

Opium Cultivation (02:55)

Around Myanmar 200,000 families rely on poppy farming for their livelihoods. Taxes from the trade have helped fund both sides of the ongoing civil war.

Opium Supply Chain (01:43)

Poppy cultivation is fueling conflict in Myanmar, and conflict is fueling poppy cultivation. After harvest, it is transported to the border, where it is processed into heroin and smuggled to the global market via China and Thailand

Muse (02:13)

Cochrane gets stuck in a traffic jam on an opium trade route through Shan State. At a border town, locals apply for short term visas to work in China.

Nant Phar Kar's Heroin Epidemic (02:54)

A cheap, abundant opium supply is negatively affecting a small town in Shan State. A woman discusses losing two sons to addiction.

Addressing Heroin Addiction (02:58)

Nant Phar Kar churches run rehab clinics where users quit, cold turkey. Recovering addicts share how the drug has impacted their lives. The Myanmar government does nothing to solve the problem.

Civil War and Opium (02:42)

As Myanmar's largest minority, the Shan People have few economic prospects other than poppy production. For 60 years, the Shan State Army fought the Burmese government for independence. Cochrane encounters a roadblock; soldiers say they are working to implement alternative crops.

Transitioning from Poppy Cultivation (03:24)

Rubber, sesame, and citrus have failed as alternative crops; the U.N. believes coffee will be successful. Residents of a Shan village began growing opium to survive during the civil war, and hope the project will prove as lucrative.

Search for National Stability (02:37)

Myanmar citizens hope for peace with a new, democratically elected government. Anti-drug vigilantes have begun destroying poppy fields. Shan villagers are optimistic that coffee will be a successful alternative crop.

Credits: Myanmar: Poppyland (00:36)

Credits: Myanmar: Poppyland