Yeh definitely. I was in Laos in September and there’s opium and weed going around everywhere, loads of tourists wanting to try it out. Personally I didn’t touch it. As you say, its a pretty common scam over there – guy on the street sells opium to tourist, next thing the police mysteriously turn up and bust you with the drugs and force you to empty your bank account as a bribe. Laos has a really appalling human rights record and I heard plenty of nasty stories about the prisons over there – Thai jails are like a luxury hotel in comparison.
The Full Moon Party in Thailand is a good laugh and they sell “happy shakes” on the beach, which apparently contain mushrooms but I suspect they’re a bit of a mixture of whatever’s been confiscated from the tourists that night, mixed with coca cola. Its full of Brit/Aussie gap year students though and pretty cheesy.
SE Asia is a fucking interesting place anyway without drugs and I’d recommend it if you’re looking for somewhere to go, and if you’re careful about it there are plenty of opportunities to get wasted if you want.
