Access to cannabis trails

Confronting…cross-national

“The paths of... marijuana” not only demonstrates the bravery and spirit of journalists in a difficult field, but also demonstrates the ability to exploit topics beyond the scope of a country, a nation. It shows that Vietnamese journalists are ready to face new challenges, pursue topics, and go to the end of the matter.

Journalist Mai Tam Hieu shared: “At the end of February 2023, a “big brother” in Hai Phong who was famous about 20 years ago called me to say goodbye and go abroad, the reason was hard to imagine. “I’m going to Thailand to grow marijuana”, I asked “is it dangerous?”, the answer was: “there are already people working on farms there, all the cannabis growers of Vietnamese origin are also gathering there to study cannabis cultivation. They have given permission there…”.

As soon as he got this information, journalist Mai Tam Hieu and his colleagues in the Board discussed the idea, made a plan, and reported to the Editorial Board for approval of the topic. Because they mainly worked abroad and were not familiar with the area, the group spent a lot of time researching information both domestically and internationally. The group traveled along the border provinces from the Northwest to An Giang to assess the current situation and consulted with the authorities to see if they had any information about cannabis cultivation in neighboring countries?...

A group of reporters visit cannabis products on display at a store in Bangkok. Photo: NVCC

Not only did it cost a lot to travel by different means across countries, the group also encountered its own difficulties in each country. In addition to Thailand and Laos, when the group went to Cambodia, they were also discovered, obstructed and chased away many times. Meanwhile, in Cambodia, the border provinces are home to many types of criminals. It is easy for criminals to commit illegal acts, and if they have a "move" in one country, they will run across the border to another country.

Working in some other countries, the difficulty is not only the way to get around, the language barrier in communication but also the contact to approach the characters who are the bosses in the cannabis growing world. There was a time when the team had to wait for 5 days, through many appointments to approach the boss to exploit information. Normally, the subjects who grow and produce this plant are always wary of strangers. As soon as someone else comes to the growing, producing, processing area, they are immediately obstructed, chased away, or even followed back.

Cannabis farm in Kanchanaburi province (central Thailand). Photo: NVCC

Journalist Mai Tam Hieu said: When going deep into the country's territory and through many introductions, the group of reporters approached the bosses, they came from some of the world's largest countries such as the US, Canada,... who were behind the entire process of providing seeds, planting, caring for, harvesting, and consuming cannabis. However, after meeting them, it was not easy to exploit information from these subjects, some of whom were only interested in selling quantity, not sharing any other information. Despite many difficulties "in a foreign land" and working in a challenging context, the group of authors were still determined to carry out the topic, to get to the bottom of the truth.

Flexible, responsive every minute, in every situation that arises

Immediately after being published, the series of articles “The paths of... marijuana” with simple, direct, easy-to-understand investigative reporting language attracted a large number of readers. This is also a series of articles with a record number of views of Nhan Dan Newspaper, many articles were edited and shared on social networking platforms, attracting public attention. The series of articles has contributed to warning people about the potential risks of drug crimes even when they are abroad. In fact, from the series of articles, the Police, Border Guard and Customs forces... have been able to recognize this marijuana plant, apply new and most appropriate professional measures to prevent the smuggling of this item through different routes.

When doing an investigation, each reporter can only make a guess and cannot predict how things will turn out, how the process will go, and whether there will be any obstacles. Everyone must be flexible and quick every minute, in every situation that arises... "When we deploy this series of articles, an important principle is that we are not allowed to violate the law. It is possible that in some countries, buying and selling marijuana is allowed, but when returning, we are not allowed to bring it into our country's territory. In any country, we must obey the laws of that country, we cannot use our professional characteristics to justify that we are doing an investigative report in this field and may violate the law" - Journalist Mai Tam Hieu confided.

A group of reporters at a cannabis farm in Kanchanaburi province (central Thailand). Photo: NVCC

After the series was published, the neighboring country has taken stricter measures in the cultivation and use of cannabis. Most recently, in February 2024, the Thai Ministry of Health proposed not allowing the use of cannabis for commercial purposes, only allowing its use for medical purposes...

Le Tam

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tiep-can-nhung-neo-duong-can-sa-post299585.html