Lu Di: Banning Opium Cultivation and Putting an End to Poisoning: Reminiscences of the Development Work of Jingpeng County (8)
(November 1945 to January 1947)
Lu Di
During the period of Japanese puppet rule, opium smoke was widely cultivated in the Rehe area, which was an odious method of Japanese imperialism to poison the people of the mainland and extract their blood and sweat.
The cultivation of cigarettes and the use of drugs in the territory of the economic sheds are quite serious, and the broad masses of the people have suffered greatly. The Japanese forced the peasants to grow large quantities of tobacco and requisitioned dried tobacco, and many peasants were unable to hand over the dried tobacco, and were beaten to the point that their skin and flesh were broken, and some were poured with chili pepper water, and the punishment was very heavy and unbearable.
In particular, drug abuse is widespread. In many villages, many people are addicted to opium, and some families are addicted to drugs, resulting in many people becoming addicted to drugs, their bodies destroyed, and some of them losing their labor force.
Selling children and daughters, separating wives, ruining families, and bankrupt families abound.
After the liberation of the economic shed, we started the anti-smoking and anti-drug work while opening up various tasks, and set up an anti-smoking bureau to take charge of anti-smoking affairs. All dried tobacco left over from the enemy's puppet government was confiscated; a certain amount of tobacco was collected from tobacco growers as taxes, and the government purchased the surplus tobacco soil, and it was explicitly announced that the cultivation of opium tobacco would be prohibited in the future so as to eliminate the source of tobacco.
In the past year, a total of 20,000 taels of dried cigarettes have been confiscated and all handed over for processing. Smoking cessation activities have been carried out for smokers. Extensive publicity and education should be carried out among the masses, and examples should be used to explain the dangers of drug use and the benefits of quitting smoking, and those who refuse to change their ways will be educated by governments at all levels in smoking cessation centers and quit within a time limit.
As a result of in-depth work, activities such as growing, smoking, and selling tobacco have basically been banned. This is a good thing that is beneficial to the people and production, and has won praise from the masses.