Opium‑Reduction Programmes, Discourses of Addiction and Gender in Northwest Laos

In Muang Sing district of northwest Laos, a community- based detoxification programme was recently launched among the highland Akha. The Akha grow almost all the poppy in the district and have high rates of opium addiction. Whereas the attitude of the Akha to opium is generally one of ambivalence, the detoxification programme portrays opium in unambiguously negative terms, with the consequent inculcation of an addict identity and a strong sense of shame among relapsed addicts. On the other hand, the programme has more positive consequences for women. Even though historically fewer women than men become addicts, women often bear the brunt of the burden. The detoxification programme gives women a voice against addiction, but this empowerment remains circumscribed within a patriarchal society. Opium use is widespread in northern provinces of Laos, Myanmar, and and to a lesser extent in northern Thailand - a region referred to as the Golden Triangle. The cultivation of opium is associated with a number of highland ethnic minorities living in these regions, in particular the Hmong, Yao, Lisu, Lahu, Wa, Shan, and Akha. In the mountains surrounding Muang Sing valley in northwest Laos, there is a greater number of Akha villages than of any other ethnic group. Recent surveys by development agencies working with the Lao government have documented opium addiction in virtually all Akha villages of Muang Sing. Although addicts are to be found in each village, the percentage of households with one or more members dependent on opium varies widely across villages. Local Akha view the common inclusion of opium in their lives with a degree of ambivalence. It is a commodity that has powerful practical uses and significant exchange value. On the other