For Myanmar's former military rulers, recognizing the realities of their country's narcotics problem has always been a tough call. In 1999, the then-junta decreed - with every sign of serious intent -- that a grandiose 15-year eradication program would create a drug-free nation by 2014.
When reality caught up at a regional counter-narcotics conference in Naypyitaw in mid-2013, where it became glaringly apparent that Myanmar was nowhere near "drug free," the government simply adjusted the deadline to 2019. Now, as the military steps back from its inglorious role in governance after the country's free elections in November, Myanmar is stumbling toward a narcotics crisis of a severity unprecedented even by its own bleak standards.
