What is the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia?
The Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia is known as an illegal drug-producing area found on land of 950,000 square meters spread throughout Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. The main drug produced is opium, which is used to make heroin.HistoryThe first use of opium in the Golden Triangle dates back to 1366 in Thailand and 1519 in Burma. It is thought to have been introduced to the region via Arab traders from the Mediterranean.The Boom DaysWhen there was a decline in opium production in China during the Cold War, cultivation grew in the Golden Triangle. The KMT army, a Chinese army who fought the Imperial Japanese, was the first to organize trading in the regions bordering Burma, Thailand and Laos.What Life is LikeMany people living in the Golden Triangle depend on the opium trade to survive and are often controlled by insurgent groups and drug lords.The Opium DeclineThere has been a significant decline in the demand for opium over the past decade. Although this is positive step to putt
