Super- pure North Korean crystal meth flooding markets worldwide

[CLICKHEREx]

http://online.thatsmags.com/post/dprk-crystal-meth-floods-markets-worldwide-while-state-suffers-addicition-epidemic *


28 Apr 2014

Rebecca Unsworth


99 percent pure crystal meth produced in North Korean laboratories is flooding international markets as the communist state experiences an addiction crisis, the Daily Mail reports.

The highly addictive and dangerous drug- which comes in the form of crystals to be smoked providing an instantaneous hit- is reportedly being transported through China to be ferried across the world. 30 kg (66 lb) of 99 percent pure crystal meth was intercepted in 2012 by US police on its way to New York, while last year two Thailand-based Brits were charged in the city with conspiracy to smuggle illegal drugs tied up in plot involving 100 kg (220 lb) of the drug.

In North Korea, drug use is surprisingly widespread. Cannabis – called "mouth tobacco" – is legal, and opium is used as a pain reliever. Crystal meth is a part of everyday life with approximately 50 percent of the population hooked, many unaware of the drug's deadly side effects. People offer the drug to visitors in the same way that a Brit might offer guests a cup of tea, while parents are known to feed it to their children to increase productivity and obtain good grades. A new word "munlan" has even emerged to describe the meth addicts.

North Korean, Lee Saera, 43, told the LA Times earlier this year just how ubiquitous the drug has become. She said: "If you go to somebody's house it is a polite way to greet somebody by offering them a sniff. It is like drinking coffee when you're sleepy, but ice is so much better."

The government began producing the drug in the 1990s to generate cash for the county's ruling elite, through a secretive operation called "Office 39" set up by Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il. The drugs were exported mainly to China, with studies from China and the US finding particularly high levels of addiction in border regions between the states. After state production was curbed in the late 2000s, meth "cooking" went underground with production taking place in small, secret labs across the country most likely under the direction of mafia-style gangs. The finished product is then transported to the West as well as supplying the domestic market.

Harvard researcher and assistant professor of political science at the University of Missouri, Sheena Chestnut Greitens, said: "no longer limited to elites, the drug trade and other illicit activities now encompass a broader swath of North Korean society than before. This means that a wider array of North Koreans, elite and ordinary, have opportunities for economic activity that is not dependent on the state and benefit economically from illicit trade."

40 percent of the state's foreign earnings are now generated through illegal activity, including drug exporting.

[image via ABC*]

[quarterflesh]

Walter White Wong Chong

[in_spirit]

Sounds like bs to me, lol...

[katu]

"50% of the population hooked" Im calling bullshit on this hey. The North Korean people are more worried about where their next meal is coming from rather than substance abuse. Poor fuckers are eating sawdust and clay while their glorious leader cruises around in a BMW.

[waterboy 2.0]

99% pure.... that's science Mr Jong-un

[ThunderIdeal]

i believe it. for starters, it dulls hunger, and misery in general. secondly, it's known to be widely used around asia to work more hours per week (i think surely it must catch up to them?), it's use was widespread in the USA before they banned it.

best meth in the world, virtually for free, in one of the harshest countries on earth? i'm surprised usage isn't closer to 90%.

Edited June 15, 2014 by ThunderIdeal

[ThunderIdeal]

remember that speed never used to have all the stigma surrounding it, just like opium/cocaine before it, they were viewed and treated the way we view and treat panadol.

if its cheap, available, and produces kickass body/mind superpowers along with euphoria that can hardly be topped by anything money can buy let alone anything a north korean can buy........ and nobody is explaining how any of this could turn bad.......... why not? there would literally have to be something wrong with everyone's brain if 50% of the population wasn't going for it.

Edited June 15, 2014 by ThunderIdeal

[tarenna]

Is it blue?

[mr b.caapi]

"50% of the population hooked" Im calling bullshit on this hey. The North Korean people are more worried about where their next meal is coming from rather than substance abuse. Poor fuckers are eating sawdust and clay while their glorious leader cruises around in a BMW.

Well there ya go, you just said it...."worried about where their next meal is coming from" , no other drug is going to quash that problem but Meth.

Edited June 15, 2014 by mr b.caapi

[katu]

You guys may well be right hey. You know I get frustrated as hell with our country and its politics but shit we got it good compared to large parts of the world! Poor bastards. It's George Orwell 1984 shit over there yeah!