Special Political
International Drug Trade
Cambodia
Braxton Orban
As the trading of illegal drugs has become an international problem, action must be taken in regulating the flow of drugs. Illegal markets span across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Although Cambodia is not part of the “Golden Triangle,” an area of Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand where much of the world’s opium and heroin are produced, it shares both a closer border and many of the same drug issues. Cambodia, along with many other Southeast Asian nations, has very strict drug laws, including possible charges of life in prison, but enforcement of these policies is flexible. This is a common flaw across many drug trade solution programs to illegal drug problems: strong laws with weak reinforcement.
After the Cambodian Civil War in the 60s and 70s, many poor Cambodians entered the illegal drugs trade in a desperate attempt to make a living in a devastated country. Cambodia has made significant progress from this point, but a market for outlawed drugs still exists. In 2018, over 16,000 people were arrested for having illicit drugs in Cambodia. Over 533 kilograms of heroin, cocaine, and other illegal substances were confiscated in the same year. Although the death penalty is outlawed in Cambodia, life sentences can be given to individuals caught trafficking 80 grams or more of and illegal substances across Cambodian borders. An increased attack on illicit substances in 2017 has sharply increased the number of prison inmates in Cambodian jails, straining the national budget and creating new issues, such as overcrowding and threats to prison security. Cambodia’s overall attacks have been targeted to both users and sellers of illegal drugs equally. (pick either why your country is in need of help or has made progress)
The current global drug crisis needs an immediate and clear resolution. Cambodia recommends that both the supply side and the demand side of drug interactions should be combated. Due to the global nature of this problem, the United Nations should establish an international program to reduce worldwide drug abuse. Cambodia encourages increased finance for anti-drug organizations and for states to be more meticulous in their enforcement of anti-drug laws and policies. In order to minimize the current levels of drug abuse and addiction globally, a resolution that attacks the drug trade on a global scale, prosecutes all possessions of illegal substances, and increases state action of the issue is imperative.
- Braxton Orban
