CAMBODIA TELLS FARMERS: NO MORE POT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) Prime Minister Hun Sen urged farmers Saturday to
stop planting marijuana.

The Cambodian leader, speaking in observance of World Anti-Narcotics Day,
asked all Cambodians to fight the country's growing drug-trafficking
problem.

As Cambodia emerges from decades of war, an atmosphere of lawlessness has
been increasingly exploited by narcotics traffickers.

Heroin is shipped through Cambodia from Laos and Thailand, marijuana is
grown in rural plantations and amphetamines are produced in secret
laboratories along the rugged western border with Thailand.

Until a recent crackdown, marijuana could be openly purchased at a Phnom
Penh market place known for selling tourist trinkets.

Several large hauls of marijuana have been seized in recent years from
container ships that sailed from Cambodia.

The country's underfunded narcotics officials readily acknowledge that
corruption in the police and military perpetuate the trade.

The United States has pushed hard for Cambodia to stamp out its drug
trafficking problem. Hun Sen urged government agencies and the private
sector to work with international anti-narcotics agencies.

"The economy of a developing country cannot improve unless it is a legal
economy that is supported by the international community," Hun Sen said.