The Union of Myanmar is striving to eliminate narcotic drugs as a national duty and is carrying out anti-drug drive in every way possible, adopting two strategies, three tactics and three techniques. The three tactics include supply elimination, demand elimination and law enforcement and the three techniques are to uplift and change the morale and perception of drug users and poppy growers, to secure smooth and easy transportation and communication between the nationals residing in the hills and those living in the plains and to uplift the economic and social life of the national races residing in the border areas.

As the government is speeding up development work for border areas and national races, these regions and the people there are developing socially as well as economically. Determined to root out the danger of narcotic drugs, the national races living in the border areas are actively taking part in the anti-drug drive. The government has been implementing the 15-year drug eradication plan from 1999 to 2014. The plan has been divided into three 5-year plans and we are now in the third year of the second 5-year plan. Regional authorities, leaders of the national races and the local people are working in concert to execute stipulated programmes of the plan.

The government is encouraging farmers to grow poppy-substitute crops and rendering necessary assistance to them. Moreover, they are provided with rice and other food supplies. The result is that the farmers have given up growing poppy, surrendering poppy seeds and dried poppy bulbs to regional authorities. The poppy seeds and dried poppy bulbs have been torched thirteen times. Between the periods from 1988 to March 2006, there were 77,640 seizures of narcotic drugs and they were worth about 20,432 million US dollars.

The entire national people will keep on taking part in the anti drug drive being carried out by the government as a national duty till the danger of narcotic drugs is wiped out from our soil once and for all.