Easy, by creating an army of your own and calling yourself the defender of ethnic minorities in your local area. You have now become a legal Druglord who fights for democracy against a military regime, yet you and your family stay in control, get super rich while the local economy never develops.

Production was banned in Afghanistan, so Myanmar filled up the demand. Which companies are paying, can make a list.

I think crop substitution programs were (and still are) a very viable approach

Unfortunately, most programs are torpedoed by destination countries' policies/politicians and origin country farmers are just left scratching their heads - returning to opium soon after because at least that's always worked

We should start using opium too so we can forget the sorry state of this country

MYANMAR NUMBER ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🇲🇲💪😤💪💪😎🫡🫡🫡🫡🇲🇲😎😤🫡🇲🇲😤💪🇲🇲🫡😤🇲🇲😎😤🫡🇲🇲😎😤🫡🇲🇲🫡😤😎😤🇲🇲🫡🫡😤🇲🇲😎😤🫡😤

Myanmar’s opium production, along with heroin exports, have skyrocketed since the 2021 coup, as economic and social turmoil leaves many farmers with few alternatives. The military regime, along with drug traffickers, often compel farmers to cultivate opium. This means that record-high profits from poppy seed farming are doing little to improve the livelihoods for most in the country. The United Nations and broader international community should ensure that development initiatives in Myanmar reflect the push and pull factors fuelling the country's opium industry.