Myanmar's efforts to review drug laws welcomed

“The decision to review the law is not only timely but also offers a prospect to improve the drugs legislation and to ensure that the laws address drug-related problems in the country more effectively. It is an opportunity to ensure that affected populations have access to health care and development, taking into account both national conditions and international developments and best practices,” the international organisation said in a new report titled “Towards a Healthier Legal Environment: A Review of Myanmar Drug Laws".

This report reviews Myanmar’s drug laws and related policies, including the 1917 Burma Excise Act; the 1993 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law; and the 1995 Rules relating to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. 

Devoted to a wide range of international problems, the organisation hosted a drug-related workshop in Nay Pyi Taw last month. The workshop was jointly organised by the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control CCDAC and was funded through a GIZ grant. One of the agenda was to explore the situation of opium farmers and the inter-linkage between land and drugs, the reality of illicit opium cultivation in Myanmar, including its correlations with food insecurity, poverty, and development. 

In the report, TNI suggested a range of revisions to the laws.