0003160 G.F. 316
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37.
The concept behind this suggestion is that the Government of Thailand should declare unto itself a monopoly in respect of opium and its derivatives with the purpose of purchasing for destruction all the drugs coming out of 'The Golden Triangle' for the domestic and international illicit traffic. In furtherance of this object Government depots would be set up at Chiang Mai and perhaps elsewhere in northern Thailand to which the producers and initial traffickers would be required to bring their drugs for compulsory purchase. The immediate objections to buying drugs in this manner are that increased opium production would be encouraged, that it would be very expensive, and that illicit trafficking would continue anyway because the demands of the market would enable the traffickers to pay substantially higher prices to the producers than the monopoly. While there is some validity to these arguments if taken in isolation, the object of the exercise needs to be kept firmly in mind, and also the fact that such a monopoly would be only one aspect of the drive against the illicit narcotics trade. There is little doubt that a monopoly along the lines proposed here would result in many tons of dangerous drugs being removed from the illicit traffic near the source of supply. This in turn would lead to a scarcity of opium products for the inter- national trade, rising prices and a removal of opium and heroin from its current cheap and easy availability at street level in Hong Kong. Once this happens then it should be possible to make some real progress with the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts in the Colony within a reasonable period of time leading to the eradication of drug abuse from the community as a major social problem.
38.
That opium production might increase in Burma and Thailand, and perhaps in Laos also, if a monopoly along these lines is created is accepted, but it is not an insuperable barrier to such a scheme. At present there is virtually no other way to master the substantial exports from Burma, while any increase in production in any case would last only until the Governments in the region succceded in obtaining control of the opium growing areas and enforced crop substitution programmes, oven though this will take a good number of years.
39.
The question of the expense which would be involved in a compulsory purchase operation of this sort needs to be viewed against the vast amount of money which is being spent by many countries to combat the illicit drug traffic and to treat and rehabilitate addicts. The sum runs into hundreds of millions of American dollars. The United States Government alone has appropriated US$500 million for the purpose. It is impossible in Hong Kong to estimate just how much an opium monopoly would cost on an annual basis, but if it cost in the order of US$30 million it would be money well spent provided it contributed to reducing substantially the amount of drugs avail- able for international trafficking. To expect the Thai Government to foot the bill for an operation of this type aimed primarily at helping the United States, Hong Kong and other victim countries
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