Drug Trafficking in Cambodia and China

Opium in China and ecstasy in Cambodia show how a single drug can have such a powerful impact on both the economy and people of a country. In both instances, drugs don't just affect a certain division of the population; their addictive nature harms the lives of common people. In the Vanguard documentary, it showed that even teenagers became addicted, and rehab centers became necessary. In addition, the people were so dependent on the drugs as a means of making money. In China, opium alone made an $18,000,000 difference for China, without which they wouldn't have been in debt. Similarly, one container of the oil produced enough ecstasy to sell for $200,000 overseas.

However, the results created different situations in the countries. As we know, opium ensured that China was losing a constant flow of money to the British. This was the beginning, as the effects of opium began to tear the country apart from the inside. Finally, the Opium Wars made China unable to resist whatever the British demanded of them, essentially making them helpless. Unlike the opium trade where the country trafficking drugs benefited the most from the trade, Cambodia seems to suffer from the drug trafficking as well. The ecstasy and meth easily addicts the population. Just as importantly, the environment within Cambodia is in danger. Illegal loggers and drug traffickers are destroying the forest in order to get the money that they need. While ecstasy does have an effect on the population, the means of getting it pose a huge threat to the environment of the country as well.

economic problems in China

problems within the country in Cambodia