Meth and Misery: The Growing Drug Epidemic Hollowing Out Shan State

冰毒与苦难：日益严重的毒品泛滥掏空了掸邦

作者：掸邦先驱新闻社          来源：掸邦先驱新闻社

Drug users in Southern Shan State.

南掸邦的吸毒者。

“I feel good. I don’t feel tired anymore,” says Ko Mg Nge with a weary smile. A hoe rests against his shoulder, his shirt soaked with sweat after a long day in the fields. “After taking two WY pills, I can work all day.”

“我感觉很好。我不再觉得累了，”Ko Mg Nge带着疲惫的微笑说。他肩上扛着一把锄头，在田地里干了一整天，衬衫被汗水湿透了。“吃了两颗WY丸后，我就可以工作一整天了。”

Ko Mg Nge is a farm worker in Ywangan Township, southern Shan State. Like many in this region, he survives by clearing forests, digging land, and chopping wood, work that is physically punishing. But in a country shaken by political upheaval and economic collapse, exhaustion is a luxury few can afford.

Ko Mg Nge是掸邦南部Ywangan镇的一名农场工人。像这个地区的许多人一样，他靠砍伐森林、挖地和砍柴为生，这些工作对身体都是一种折磨。但在一个因政治动荡和经济崩溃而动摇的国家，疲惫是一种奢侈，很少有人能负担得起。

So each day, he spends 1,000 kyats, barely over 30 cents, for two methamphetamine pills, known locally as “WY” or “Yaba.” For Ko Mg Nge and countless others, drug use isn’t about pleasure or addiction. It’s about making it through the day.

因此，他每天花1000缅元（约合30美分）买两片甲基苯丙胺药片，当地人称之为“WY”或“Yaba”。对于Ko Mg Nge和无数其他人来说，吸毒不是为了快乐或上瘾。而是如何度过每一天。

A Growing Culture of Drug Dependence

日益增长的药物依赖文化

WY pills have become alarmingly commonplace in Ywangan, used not just by adults, but by teenagers as young as 14. “Almost everyone doing hard labor here takes it,” says Ko Mg Nge, who also admits to selling the pills. He gets daily calls from young buyers, many of whom are already out of school and bearing the burdens of adulthood.

在万安，WY药丸已经变得非常普遍，不仅成年人在使用，连14岁的青少年也在使用。“几乎每个在这里做苦工的人都吃这种药，”Ko Mg Nge说，他也承认自己卖过这种药。他每天都接到年轻买家的电话，其中许多人已经离开学校，承担着成年后的负担。

“This drug keeps us awake. It makes the body feel light. Without it, we can’t keep up with the work,” he explains. Then his voice falters. “I know it’s not good.”

“这种药让我们保持清醒。它使身体感到轻盈。没有它，我们就跟不上工作进度，”他解释道。然后他的声音颤抖起来。“我知道这样不好。”

Across the township, teenage boys take the same pills to endure long days in the fields. Years of economic collapse have pushed families to send children to work. With no access to opportunity or education, meth becomes a dangerous crutch, one that offers short-term relief at a devastating cost.

在小镇的另一边，十几岁的男孩吃着同样的药片来忍受长时间的田间劳作。多年的经济崩溃迫使许多家庭送孩子去工作。由于无法获得机会或接受教育，冰毒变成了一根危险的拐杖，它以毁灭性的代价提供了短期的缓解。

Widespread drug users southern Shan State.

掸邦南部吸毒者普遍存在。

When Fatigue Turns to Violence

当疲劳变成暴力

What begins as a coping mechanism can quickly spiral into something darker.

一开始的应对机制会迅速演变成更黑暗的东西。

“At first, it was just to stay awake,” says a relative of one drug user. “Now, if my brother doesn’t take it, he gets angry. He shouts at our father. It’s frightening.”

“一开始，我只是想保持清醒，”一名吸毒者的亲戚说。“现在，如果我哥哥不接受，他就会生气。他对我们的父亲大喊大叫。这是可怕的。”

In September 2023, the region was rocked by a shocking incident: a 25-year-old man, reportedly high on meth, stabbed his father. He was detained for one night and released the next day.

2023年9月，该地区发生了一起令人震惊的事件：据报道，一名25岁的男子吸食冰毒，刺伤了他的父亲。他被拘留了一夜，第二天就被释放了。

“I never thought I’d see something like this in our peaceful town,” says Ma Kyawt, a resident of Ywangan. Her husband, once quiet and gentle, now steals household supplies to fund his habit. “He even tried to stab me when I refused to give him money. I live in fear.”

“我从没想过会在我们这个宁静的小镇看到这样的事情，”万安居民Ma Kyawt说。她的丈夫，曾经安静温和，现在偷家用用品来资助他的习惯。“当我拒绝给他钱时，他甚至试图刺伤我。我生活在恐惧之中。”

Similar tragedies have played out across Shan State. In February 2025, a young man in Namsang allegedly stabbed his parents to death during a drug-fueled episode.

类似的悲剧在掸邦各地上演。2025年2月，南尚一名年轻男子据称在一次吸毒事件中刺死了他的父母。

A Systemic Crisis, Not Just a Local One

一场系统性危机，而不仅仅是局部危机

Ywangan and Namsang aren’t isolated cases. They are part of a broader drug epidemic sweeping Shan State, one rooted in systemic neglect, armed conflict, and criminal profiteering.

Ywangan和Namsang并不是孤立的案例。它们是席卷掸邦的更广泛的毒品流行病的一部分，其根源是系统性忽视、武装冲突和犯罪牟取暴利。

Before Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, Ywangan was gaining attention for its coffee farms and eco-tourism. Today, it’s one of many towns where meth flows freely, sold in villages, karaoke bars, gambling dens, and even schools.

在2021年缅甸军事政变之前，万安因其咖啡农场和生态旅游而备受关注。如今，它是冰毒自由流通的众多城镇之一，在村庄、卡拉ok酒吧、赌博窝点甚至学校都有出售。

“Drugs are easier to get than clean water,” says a woman from Namsang. “Teenagers get them from dealers connected to militias. We all know who’s behind it, but no one can stop them.”

“毒品比干净的水更容易得到，”一位来自南桑的妇女说。“青少年从与民兵有联系的毒贩那里获得毒品。我们都知道幕后黑手是谁，但没人能阻止他们。”

According to a 2024 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Shan State is responsible for 88% of Myanmar’s opium production. While opium cultivation has slightly decreased, synthetic drugs like methamphetamine are exploding in volume.

根据联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室（UNODC） 2024年的一份报告，掸邦占缅甸鸦片产量的88%。虽然鸦片种植略有减少，但甲基苯丙胺等合成毒品的产量却在爆炸式增长。

Thai authorities say the conflict in Myanmar has fueled the drug trade. Meth, heroin, and other synthetics now flow across borders, produced in hidden labs in Shan and Kachin States, often with backing from armed groups and transnational crime networks.

泰国当局说，缅甸的冲突助长了毒品交易。冰毒、海洛因和其他合成毒品现在跨境流通，它们在掸邦和克钦邦的隐蔽实验室里生产，往往得到武装团体和跨国犯罪网络的支持。

Opium pipes and meth

鸦片烟斗和冰毒。

Drugs as a Weapon of Control?

毒品是控制的武器？

For many residents, the crisis goes beyond addiction, it’s about control.

对许多居民来说，危机不仅仅是上瘾，而是控制。

“They don’t want the youth to rise up,” says Sai Than, a man from Taunggyi. “If you keep people numb, they won’t resist. That’s why they flood the towns with drugs.”

“他们不希望年轻人起义，”来自东夷的赛丹（Sai Than）说。“如果你让人们麻木，他们就不会反抗。这就是为什么他们让毒品充斥城镇的原因。”

In post-coup Myanmar, where the rule of law has all but vanished, drug dealers operate with impunity. Arrests are rare and largely symbolic. “Even when someone is caught, they’re released the next day,” says Ko Mg Nge.

在政变后的缅甸，法治几乎完全消失，毒品贩子逍遥法外。逮捕是罕见的，而且主要是象征性的。“即使有人被抓住，他们第二天也会被释放，”Ko Mg Nge说。

As long as drug profits are protected and powerful actors remain untouched, the cycle continues, devastating families, hollowing out communities, and erasing futures.

只要毒品利润受到保护，只要有权势的人不受影响，这个循环就会继续下去，摧毁家庭，掏空社区，抹杀未来。

“We Have to Protect Each Other”

“我们必须互相保护”

Yet despite the despair, some still hold onto hope.

然而，尽管绝望，一些人仍然抱着希望。

“We need to protect each other,” says Sai Than. “We can’t rely on those in power. We must help our youth before it’s too late.”

“我们需要相互保护，”赛丹说。“我们不能依赖当权者。我们必须帮助我们的年轻人，否则就太晚了。”

But in towns like Ywangan, where meth has become a tool of both survival and suppression, that mission feels overwhelming.

但在像Ywangan这样的城镇，冰毒已经成为一种生存和镇压的工具，这项任务让人感到难以承受。

As the sun sets over the quiet fields, Ko Mg Nge heads home, another day behind him, another pill waiting for tomorrow.

当太阳落在宁静的田野上时，Ko Mg Nge回家了，新的一天在他身后，另一粒药丸等待着明天。

作者：掸邦先驱新闻社          来源：掸邦先驱新闻社