0003160 G.F. 316
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Hong Kong. Of course the traffickers no doubt would resort to other means of smuggling to meet the demands of the Hong Kong market, the use of merchant ships in particular, but smuggling by this method is much more onerous, dangerous and liable to detection. The very great legal and other difficulties in the way of obtaining agreement to the desired searching formula mentioned above are fully appreciated, but so important is a solution to the trawler question from Hong Kong's point of view that it justifies the most searching examination to see whether an answer cannot be found notwithstanding the consideration given to this problem in the past. Perhaps it is a problem for United Nations consideration.
A suggestion to create an opium monopoly in Thailand
35.
At the present time the methods adopted in the opium producing countries to interdict the illicit traffic in narcotic drugs are centred upon law enforcement measures. In conjunction with these, programmes are being developed in Thailand and Laos aimed at securing control of the areas where opium is produced together with introducing marketable crops to the tribesmen to be grown in substitution for the opium poppy. These are the long term solutions which coupled with strict law enforcement hopefully will reduce the drug problems emanating from 'The Golden Triangle' to manageable proportions during the 1980's. But the serious export situation with its root in Burma at the moment remains beyond the reach of Burmese Government control and any programme designed to stamp it out, a position not likely to alter in the immediate future.
36.
Experience worldwide indicates that when dealing with unlawful vice, law enforcement at best can only be partially successful, particularly when there is a strong demand for the services of that vice and the trade is liberally supplied with money to facilitate its operations and to corrupt those who stand in its way.
Such is the case with the illicit drug trade. The rbject of every Government whose declared purpose is to stamp out illicit drug trafficking and to eradicate drug abuse from its people, is to stop drugs getting into the hands of its citizens thus preventing the problems of addiction which will follow if they do. Such being the case it is necessary to look beyond law enforcement by itself if any substantial progress is to be made in this direction in the middle distance while the long term final solutions are being pushed forward. And it is essential if narcotics control programmes are to be credible and meaningful to the ordinary citizen that constructive progress is made towards sweeping drugs from the streets within a reasonable period of time and that this is readily apparent to everybody. Taken together with the strictest possible law enforcement and the pursuit of the long term programmes, the creation of a monopoly by the Thai Government for opium and its derivatives is a method capable of early implementation by which a large quantity of the drugs produced in 'The Golden Triangle' can be withdrawn from the illicit traffic and thus from the consumer in Hong Kong and elsewhere.
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