VZCZCXRO5438
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0113/01 0480729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170729Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1675
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHNA/DEA WASHDC 0007
RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMUNB/JIATF WEST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PHNOM PENH 000113 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, DRL, INL/AAE -- BRANDON NEUKOM 
BANGKOK FOR DEA AND TCAO -- SCOTT ROLSTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PGOV PREF PREL ASEC EAID CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA'S BURGEONING YOUTH POPULATION 
INCREASINGLY SEDUCED BY THE "PERFECT HIGH" 
 
REF: A. 2009 PHNOM PENH 391 (MINI-DUBLIN) 
     ¶B. 2009 PHNOM PENH 203 (METH BUST) 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A recent uptick in drug use, particularly 
ice - the crystallized form of methamphetamine preferred by 
Cambodia's new urban elite - has resulted in increased 
scrutiny of the social triggers and available treatment for 
Cambodia's young population.  Reported increases in teens 
holding "drug parties," domestic violence, rape, and gang 
activity have a potential to affect social stability and in 
part have been attributed to lack of jobs, inadequate 
recreational activities for the youth, the wide availability 
of methamphetamines, and absence of effective drug treatment 
facilities.  Drug treatment centers have long been accused of 
human rights abuses, and the Royal Government of Cambodia 
(RGC) is just now beginning to grapple with a response.  As 
the youth population continues to swell and job creation 
continues to diminish or stagnate, there is an acute need to 
address drug dependence in Cambodia.  END SUMMARY. 
 
The Youth Problem 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) A recent Interagency Conflict Assessment revealed 
that the growing youth population and low law enforcement 
capacity are two of the most significant issues threatening 
Cambodia's political, economic and social stability. 
Cambodia enjoyed double digit economic growth over the past 
decade.  High growth rates have created expectations of 
continued prosperity among young people in a society where 
the median age is 25 and 24% of the population is between the 
ages of 15 and 25.  As the global economic crisis hit 
Cambodia's export-driven economy, a widening gap developed 
between expectations and reality.  The effect struck 
particularly hard on a naive Cambodian youth population who 
are slowly realizing that their expectations of easy jobs and 
money may be left unfulfilled.  As a result, they are overly 
susceptible to negative social forces, and rates of drug 
abuse and illicit activity are on the rise. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Stories of "spoiled children" running into trouble 
with the law litter the local media.  These same teens in 
rehabilitation centers tell of selling gifts from their 
parents, such as motos and jewelry, to buy drugs.  One 
rehabilitation resident stated he spent $1000 of his parent's 
money in one month on drugs, a huge sum in a country where 
the average family lives on less than a dollar a day.  GDP 
per capita has steadily increased over the past decade, with 
only a slight drop in 2009 due to the global economic crisis. 
 While reliable estimates on the size of Cambodia's emerging 
middle class do not exist, one of the country's leading think 
tank directors believes it to be anywhere from 5-10% of the 
population.  For the Cambodian youth that is part of this 
growing middle class, the new concept of disposable income 
appears to be both seductive and dangerous. 
 
The Drug Problem 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Officially, law enforcement and education leaders 
state that the majority of middle class youth regularly 
attend school, stay out of trouble, and drug use has 
decreased due to "Prime Minister Hun Sen's crackdown on drugs 
and violence."  However, this assessment does not necessarily 
reflect the reality on the ground.  Although the exact number 
of illicit drug users in Cambodia is not known, the National 
Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) estimates it to be 
6,000.  According to NGOs and law enforcement experts working 
in the field, the actual figures are likely to be much higher 
- the United Nations has estimated that as many as half a 
million people in Cambodia may be drug users.  Experts from 
the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations 
Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and others have reported 
sharp spikes in drug use and increased production.  According 
to DEA, there has been an uptick in regional contacts 
discussing the amount of drugs coming from Cambodia, and 
large lab busts indicate that Cambodia is no longer simply an 
easy transit route (Ref B).  Off the record, the same RGC 
officials who laud the government's ability to control 
delinquent behavior told Poloff that there has been a sharp 
increase in violence and drug use among youth specifically 
from middle class and wealthy families. 
 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000113  002 OF 004 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) University students corroborate this by stories of 
rising drug use and premarital sex at school (both taboo in 
Cambodian culture).  A Muslim student from Kampong Cham 
University told Poloff that approximately "65% of students 
take meth regularly.  It is cheap, cool, easy to access, and 
then they can't stop."  According to another student, "Five 
years ago it was mainly gangs - now everyone does it."  An 
administrator for a semi-private drug rehabilitation center 
in Phnom Penh stated that just under half of his clients are 
students, with another third just out of school and the 
remainder social "undesirables" such as the homeless, sex 
workers, and street children who are placed there by the 
authorities.  Middle class teens regularly buy easily 
available drugs and are known to rent rooms in guest houses 
with friends to hold "drug parties."  Apparently this has 
become so widespread that in early February the district 
Governor of one of the more notorious drug areas in Phnom 
Penh warned guest house owners that failure to stop such 
gatherings would result in their businesses being shut down. 
High-end night clubs throughout Phnom Penh are filled with 
youth who have enough money to both enter the clubs, and 
purchase the party drug of choice - ice - which is readily 
available and sells for approximately $40-$50 a dose. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The effects of ice are widely known - a highly 
addictive crystallized form of methamphetamine which attacks 
the pleasure centers of the brain, can cause sleeplessness, 
paranoia, depression, hyper sexuality, and with prolonged 
high-dose use, stimulate psychosis and the potential for 
extreme violence.  Dubbed the "perfect high," the ice 
return-to-use rate after twice using has been documented as 
high as 95% (compared to 20% for heroin or crack).  Studies 
in the U.S. show strong correlations between meth use and 
increased criminal activity, domestic violence, child abuse, 
and rape.  According to an expert who has been working on 
organized crime issues in Cambodia for over 10 years, meth 
use is "off the scale."  Describing meth use as a "cancer 
eating the Cambodian family and culture from the inside out," 
the expert warned that the paranoia associated with meth and 
the level of Post Traumatic Stress in the country from the 
Khmer Rouge era has created a "dangerous brew" where 
individuals go from normal to extreme violence in a fraction 
of a second.  Although there is currently no empirical 
evidence linking it to drug use in Cambodia, local NGO 
Licadho reports the number of rape cases has been steadily 
increasing over the past few years, with approximately 60% of 
last year's cases involving victims who were minors.  Also 
disturbing is the fact that many of the perpetrators were 
also minors. 
 
The Social and Economic Problem 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Besides availability, experts believe that the rise 
in drug use among the middle class youth can be attributed to 
a change in the culture where both parents now work and have 
less control over the daily activities of their children. 
Overcrowding in schools, little interaction between students 
and teachers, and no linkage between schools and parents have 
been described as obstacles to controlling drug use. 
Furthermore, although a principal at one of the prestigious 
high schools in Phnom Penh stated that drug use decreased 
since he constructed a huge gate around the school, locked 
students in during class time, and began providing drug 
awareness training, he indicated that parents lack knowledge 
about drugs and should be more involved in their children's 
lives.  He also blamed a lack of alternatives for youth, and 
believed that more sports opportunities or vocational 
training would help to decrease drug use among the idle 
middle class. 
 
¶8. (SBU) In addition to the social effects, the economic 
burden of meth abuse can be substantial.  The costs 
associated with meth use in Cambodia are just beginning to 
emerge and can be seen in the form of lab cleanups, law 
enforcement including the arrest and incarceration of drug 
users, and social and health services.  Many of these 
expenses currently fall on NGOs and international donors. 
According to experts, it is likely that the percentage of the 
Cambodian population addicted to meth at the very least 
equals that in the U.S. where it is estimated to be at 0.1%. 
The economic cost of meth use in the U.S. has been estimated 
by the RAND Corporation to be approximately $23.4 billion, 
including the burden of addiction, premature mortality, lost 
productivity, and drug treatment.  Although Cambodia's 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000113  003 OF 004 
 
 
population is much smaller with a lower rate for services, 
its economy is nevertheless ill equipped to handle the costs 
associated with drug addiction. 
 
The Treatment and Human Rights Problem 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) In 2008 the NACD reported that 2,382 people were 
detained in government rehabilitation centers.  Official 
numbers for 2009 are not yet available, however an official 
at the Cambodian Anti-Drug Department stated that 
specifically the number of youth sent for treatment has 
increased.  According to a deputy director of the NACD, 
parents with money try to hide their children's drug use by 
secretly sending them to rehabilitation centers, often 
abroad.  This phenomenon was confirmed by Channarith Chheng, 
director of a local think tank, who stated the majority send 
their children to private clinics in China or Australia - due 
both to the poor quality of rehabilitation centers in 
Cambodia and the readily accepted story that their child has 
gone abroad to visit family or study.  Culturally, drug use 
is unmentionable, and certainly does not happen among "good 
families," which may explain why so many of the middle and 
upper class drug users are secretly sent to government 
rehabilitation centers or abroad for treatment. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Given the reports of human rights abuses and lack 
of treatment at local rehabilitation centers, it is not 
surprising that those who can send their children outside 
Cambodia for treatment.  The eleven government-run 
rehabilitation centers in Cambodia are boot camps at best 
and, according to a recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, 
"torture centers" at worst.  Drawing from interviews 
conducted in 2009 with 74 people including 53 who had been 
detained one or more times in a government center, the HRW 
report details cruel and inhuman treatment of drug users and 
other "undesirables" sent to Cambodia's rehabilitation 
centers.  Such treatment includes being shocked with electric 
batons, whipped with twisted electrical wire, beaten, forced 
to perform arduous exercise and labor, and sexual abuse. 
Although he realized it is unrealistic, HRW author Joseph 
Amon told Poloff that his recommendation to immediately and 
permanently close all rehabilitation centers was intended to 
"spark discussion" of alternatives.  He is particularly 
concerned that NGOs are working with the centers rather than 
looking at ways to support change. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Indeed, few deny the validity of human rights 
concerns in these centers, where the majority of detainees 
are involuntary and approximately 1/3 are under the age of 
eighteen.  Poloff visited one private and four government 
centers, and was openly told of involuntary methods to 
control the detainees, such as intense exercise and tying 
detainees up, and was shown electric shock wands which were 
"used fairly regularly" because the detainees could "get 
violent." 
 
¶12. (SBU) Most RGC officials insist clients at the 
rehabilitation centers are there voluntarily; however the 
concept is far from clear.  During a recent speech, the head 
of the NACD told the audience that "all drug users go to the 
centers voluntarily, and if they don't volunteer, we arrest 
them."  This seemed to be the case in early December when the 
NACD was looking for volunteers for a human drug trial of a 
relatively unknown substance, Bong Sen, provided by the 
Vietnamese to "cure drug addiction."  When volunteers did not 
materialize, drug users were rounded up and taken to the 
local police station where the director of the trial, Dr. 
Meas, told Poloff he "negotiated and convinced them to 
volunteer."  Bong Sen had not been registered with the 
Ministry of Health for use in Cambodia, and information on 
the substance, its registration, and whether it had been 
subject to an ethical review was not made available to the 
"volunteers" or organizations involved, thereby foregoing 
informed and voluntary consent. 
 
¶13. (SBU) At the Center for Education Correction and Vocation 
Training for the Victims of Drugs (CECVTVD), a center which 
Poloff visited but to which HRW was denied access, 10-20 
detainees to a room are padlocked in from the outside at 
night and for a portion of the day after lunch.  According to 
the director, the center receives about 20 new clients each 
month, 90% of whom are brought by parents or the police who 
have been asked by parents for assistance, and at least half 
of whom are students.  According to the director, drug use is 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000113  004 OF 004 
 
 
"shameful" and "unspeakable" for the family.  Children as 
young as 10 have been housed at his facility and do not go to 
schoo during their months of "rehabilitation." 
 
¶14. (SBU) Expenses related to drug treatment are required by 
law to be paid by the RGC.  Nevertheless, these centers 
readily accept donations from parents, who also bring food 
and other items of comfort during the usual 3-6 month stint 
in the center.  According to the HRW report and observers, 
while the centers take in the homeless, street children and 
sex workers, the majority of clients are from well-off 
families who can afford a $50-$200 a month "donation."  These 
families can also better afford the alleged bribes needed to 
secure a spot in a detention center rather than being sent to 
prison after a drug related arrest.  Given the lack of 
treatment provided at the centers, the profits can be high 
and costs low. 
 
Working on the Problems 
----------------------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Although Cambodian officials dismissed both the 
report and its recommendation to close the centers, attention 
to the issue has recently sparked discussion about 
alternative forms of treatment.  Instead of working within 
the centers to provide health and other essential services - 
as at least one NGO attempted before cancelling the program 
due to human rights issues - donors are now discussing ways 
to increase community services to eventually eliminate the 
need for residential centers.  The idea is that, with more 
treatment options available for drug users, the numbers sent 
to government-run rehabilitation centers will slowly 
decrease.  The Australian government has pledged funding for 
community services through its HIV/AIDS Asia Regional Program 
(HAARP).  UNODC has an ongoing pilot program focusing on 
community based treatment in a few provinces.  The head of 
NACD is receptive to changes in the approach to drug 
treatment, recently requested UNODC's program be expanded 
from the original 10 to 350 communes, and indicated that most 
of the centers will be closed by 2015.  At that point, the 
NACD hopes to have more community based treatment options 
available, and will also have one "center of excellence" in 
Sihanoukville which is currently being built with Vietnamese 
funding.  After a recent meeting with government officials, 
UNODC Regional Representative Gary Lewis stated he believes 
that the government is "concerned" by human rights abuse 
allegations in the HRW report and their intention to find 
alternatives is "sincere." 
 
¶16. (SBU) At the last Mini-Dublin meeting, donors discussed 
the need to focus on a health and community response to the 
drug problem rather than a law-enforcement approach (Ref A). 
A prominent Cambodian intellectual whose own cousin is in 
China for drug treatment stated that "drug use among 
teenagers is increasing, and the government alone cannot 
control and manage its spread."  He believes civil society 
can play an important role and that education, public 
awareness, job opportunities, sport and other cultural 
activities are the core solution to the drug problem.  Others 
echo his views. 
 
¶17. (SBU) While WHO, UNODC and others provide public 
awareness and are beginning to focus more on community based 
treatment, the Embassy is enhancing life skills training in 
schools, building capacity in health care, constructing 
sports infrastructure throughout the country, and has an 
increased emphasis on programs and opportunities for 
Cambodia's youth.  However, until the job market is ready to 
absorb the approximately 200,000 youth leaving high school or 
university each year, the potential for increased drug use 
and associated economic burdens and social instability 
remains a real concern.  Moreover, we will continue ongoing 
dialogs regarding involuntary confinement and other alleged 
human rights abuses at senior levels in an effort to 
eliminate or mitigate the negative impact of the centers 
until alternative forms of treatment are expanded to reach a 
wider population. 
 
RODLEY