Opium Museum

The world's oldest medicines

Although Opium is one of the world’s oldest medicines and has been used for over 5000 years as an effective pain killer, the opium trade has long been a profitable driver behind wars and uprisings, generating large profits for governments and merchants worldwide. The British, for example, would transport opium from India to China and exchange it for tea and spices. Resistance by China led to the Opium wars of the 19th century. Today opium is associated with social degradation, addiction and crime. Opium was legally available in many countries until the start of the 20th century. In the Golden Triangle it has historically been grown and cultivated en masse to finance wars. In the long term this has destroyed local traditions and caused severe social disruptions.

Thailand's Opium Museum

Thailand’s Opium museum is a $10 million dollar tourist attraction and drug education center located in the calm village of Baan Sop Ruak. Researchers from around the world were employed during its 15 year production timeline. The Mae Fah Luang Foundation worked together with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Japanese government to construct the museum, which opened to the public in October of 2003. The museum provides a novel approach to fighting narcotics in Thailand, known for its strong measures (death penalty) against infractors. The museum was designed to let people experience the truth and history behind opium and draw their own conclusion. Appropriately, the end of the museum contains a mirror that lets you look at yourself and reflect on how you can contribute to the effort.
Opium Museum

Opium production and smuggling

Drug production and smuggling flourished in The Golden Triangle area where the Ruak and Mekong Rivers merge. Opium is “the dried, condensed juice of a poppy, Papaver somniferum, that has a narcotic, soporific, analgesic, and astringent effect and contains morphine, codeine, papaverine, and other alkaloids used in medicine in their isolated or derived forms” (dictionary.com). The white sap of the poppy plant is extracted and boiled to make black opium, which is then refined into heroin that can be either injected or smoked. Opium and heroin are narcotic substances that are poisonous in large doses.

Opium's Origins

The first exhibit details opium’s history, beginning with its origins in Egypt, detailing its role in the Opium Wars of the 19th century, and ending with production and trafficking in South East Asia during the 20th century. The second part of the exhibit addresses opium itself, how it is grown and produced, as well as a scientific angle explaining the drug’s effects on mind and body. Included in the exhibit are videos of victims of opium abuse. The exhibit finishes with an explanation of efforts being applied to control the spread and use of this narcotic, as well as efforts being made to help people that are presently addicted to opium.

The fight against Opium

Opium curtailing efforts got a boost in 1988 when Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra founded the Doi Tung Development Project, which focused on reforestation efforts in an area previously dominated by logging and poppy fields. The motivation behind her efforts was to improve the lives of her people and end their dependence on opium trade for economic growth and to sustain their livelihoods. While projects such as the Mae Fa Luang Foundation, which designed the museum, have helped many farmers make a living off of alternative crops such as coffee and macadamia nuts, opium is still easy to grow and provides more income than alternative cash crops, so it’s production is likely to continue until Thailand’s economic infrastructure is rebuilt and healthcare is improved upon.