This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Opium Trade Ties Thai Hill Tribes to Golden Triangle
Remote Akha Lisu Hmong Yao Lahu Karen communities in northern Thailand, numbering about 500,000, live in rugged hill country linked to guerrillas and smuggling. Opium poppies grow at elevations around 3000 feet, with Thailand banning production in 1958 but crackdown efforts renewed. Much opium from the Golden Triangle crosses borders to fuel heroin markets, while slash and burn farming and remoteness enable ongoing cultivation and trafficking.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
National Geographic Society
Thailand
Golden Triangle
Hiang Rai
Burma
China