Marking 36 years of progress on drug control in Thailand



Bangkok (Thailand), 16 November 2012
- Today, Thailand celebrates 36 years of the functioning of the Office of Narcotics Control Bureau (ONCB).

During all of this time, UNODC has cooperated with ONCB.

In fact, UNODC, in the form of its predecessor organization (the UN Fund for Drug Abuse Control - UNFDAC) established its very first field office in Thailand back in 1971. The office was based in Bangkok.

Thailand was once the main driver of illicit opium production in the infamous Golden Triangle which linked Thailand, Lao PDR and Myanmar.

However, during the past 40 years, Thailand has made great strides to effectively eliminate poppy cultivation in its northern provinces.



Indeed, today, both Thailand and UNODC are sharing lessons with neighbouring Myanmar which is now the region's largest producer of illicit opium. Myanmar is now also the source of one quarter of the world's total illicit cultivation.