"Opium poppy has been cultivated in Myanmar for more than a century. Farmers have traditionally relied on its cultivation to offset rice deficits and to purchase basic goods. Opium has also been used as a painkiller and to alleviate the symptoms associated with diarrhoea, cough and other ailments. Additionally, the use of opium as medicine is often exacerbated by the lack of access to health care services. As the production and consumption of drugs are often linked, opiates remain the most widely used illicit drug within the country, with approximately an even split between heroin and opium use. In recent years, however, there appears to be a trend away from the traditional smoking of opium to injecting heroin. Moreover, the use of Amphetamine- Type Stimulants (ATS), especially by young people, is rapidly increasing. Drug use is considered in many countries as a criminal offence, often driving it underground, where users remain hidden and unmonitored. The stigma and marginalisation frequently experienced by drug users often means that they are excluded from access to medical services. The consequences of drug use on society are numerous and include, adverse effects on health; crime, violence and corruption; draining of human, natural and financial resources that might otherwise be used for social and economic development; erosion of individual, family and community ties; and undermining of political, cultural, social and economic structures. The situation is made even more critical by the economic hardships many drug users experience. This is certainly the case in Myanmar. In addition, injecting drug use and the sharing of equipment is an extremely high-risk behaviour in relation to HIV transmission..."