OPIUM PRODUCTION DOWN IN GOLDEN TRIANGLE

Opium poppy cultivation in Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, the Golden
Triangle, dropped 29 percent last year, the U.N. drug agency reported
Monday.

The region is the world's second-largest source of opium, although it
is now dwarfed by Afghanistan, the Office on Drugs and Crime report
said. Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said Afghanistan will
soon be the only source if the trend continues.

"This is a remarkable success in the reduction of illicit crops, which
is so far unmatched anywhere in the world," Costa said. "It represents
an important step towards the goal of eliminating the cultivation of
illicit crops worldwide."

The number of acres devoted to poppy cultivation in Thailand and Laos
actually increased slightly but starting from a very low base. That
increase was more than outweighed by a sharp drop in poppy cultivation
in Myanmar, the country formerly known a Burma.

In 1998, about 33 percent of the world's opium came from the Golden
Triangle, a figure that has dipped to less than 5 percent.