High in Aceh's hills: How marijuana survived the tsunami<\/p>\n
Sebastien Blanc, Agence France-Presse\/Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
Of all the tales of miraculous survival in December's tsunami
\ndisaster, one in particular has the people of Indonesia's Aceh
\nprovince reaching for their cooking pots.<\/p>\n
Although vast swathes of land were destroyed in the
\ndevastation, one crop mostly survived, thanks to the fact that it
\nwas grown in the hills, high above the flat coastal areas.<\/p>\n
And although marijuana is illegal in Indonesia, its use is
\nwidespread in Aceh where it is traditionally added to curry and
\neven coffee, as well as being smoked.<\/p>\n
In the region that bore the brunt of the human cost of the
\ntsunami, with an estimated 237,000 Acehnese killed in the
\ncatastrophe, marijuana has provided an important link to
\ntraditional ways of life.<\/p>\n
One doesn't need to look for long in the provincial capital,
\nBanda Aceh to find a roadside stall selling gulai daging, a meat-
\nbased curry dish, simmering on a gas stove.<\/p>\n
Asked whether there is any marijuana in the stew and most
\npeople hold out their wrists, as if handcuffed, and swear not.
\nBut many do add the special ingredient.<\/p>\n
Anwar, 38, is a little less timid: \"I put a little bit in the
\ncoffee and in the gulai daging (beef curry),\" he explains. \"It's
\nnot difficult to get hold of and prices have stayed pretty
\nstable,\" he says.<\/p>\n
He says his ganja comes from the mountains around the city
\nwhere it can escape the gaze of local law enforcement officials
\nand where it safely sat out the tsunami that washed away an
\nestimated 36,000 hectares (89,000 acres) of farmland on the north
\nof Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Those found in possession, trafficking or using drugs can face
\nsevere penalties in Indonesia. Being caught with a kilo of
\nmarijuana can get you two and a half years in jail, Anwar warns.<\/p>\n
He says he fries up a few cannabis seeds in his cooking but
\ndoesn't use the potent leaves. \"They get sold to the big shots
\noutside Aceh,\" he says.<\/p>\n
\"In Aceh, even for the poor, tradition states that we should
\neat gulai daging at least three times a year,\" explains a local
\njournalist from the local Serambi newspaper.<\/p>\n
\"One or two days before Ramadan, at the end of ramadan and
\nbefore the celebrations for the Haj\" annual pilgrimage, he says,
\nadding that a kilo of cannabis can be bought for 50,000 rupiah,
\nor around US$5.50.<\/p>\n
Young people asked in the street admit that they smoke it at
\nhome, behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
\"It all comes from the mountains. I can get you some if you
\nwant,\" says Abubakar, an elderly man working in one of the food
\nstalls in Banda Aceh, filled to bursting with plastic bags full
\nof gulai daging.<\/p>\n
He says that the prices of some herbs and spices went up after
\nthe tsunami but that since the marijuana crop was mostly spared,
\nthe price has remained about the same.<\/p>\n
Abubakar, 65, says local marijuana production has suffered
\nmore harm from the separatist conflict going on in the region for
\nalmost three decades than the tsunami.<\/p>\n
Abubakar, for one, says he is unwilling to visit many of the
\nareas where the marijuana is grown, as rebels from the Free Aceh
\nMovement have occupied many parts.<\/p>\n
\"We're afraid to go there,\" he says. \"They might accuse us of
\nbeing spies.\"<\/p>\n
seb\/jah\/nw
\nAsia-quake-Indonesia-drugs
\nAFP<\/p>\n
GetAFP 2.10 -- FEB 28, 2005 09:48:23<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/high-in-acehs-hills-how-marijuana-survived-the-tsunami-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }