Koh Anlong Chen
More actions
| Koh Anlong Chen | |
|---|---|
| កោះអន្លង់ចិន, Kaoh Anlong Chen | |
| HistoricalCannabis last recorded here in 1996 | |
| Hierarchy | |
| Growing Region | Southern Cambodia |
| Geography | |
| Country | Cambodia |
| Province/State | Kandal Province |
| Municipality | Ta Khmau |
| Coordinates | 11.444, 105.049 |
| Landscape | |
| Area | 6 km² |
| Terrain | River island in the Bassac, about 20 km south of Phnom Penh |
| Growing history | |
| Grown | until 1996[1] |
| Earlier names | Anlong Chine Island, Anlong Chen island |
| Dated news reports | 1996 |
| Documentation | |
| Appellations | 0 |
| Accessions | 0 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | none documented yet |
Koh Anlong Chen (Khmer: កោះអន្លង់ចិន) is a historical cannabis growing area on an island in the Bassac River, in Ta Khmau municipality, Kandal Province, Cambodia, in the Southern Cambodia growing region. Villagers on the island grew cannabis together with their vegetables. On 19 December 1996 police opened a national campaign against marijuana growers there, cutting down and burning plantations on the island.[1][2]
Setting
The Bassac branches from the Mekong at Phnom Penh and runs south through Kandal Province towards Vietnam.[3] Koh Anlong Chen lies in the river about 20 km south of Phnom Penh.[2] Its commune, Kaoh Anlong Chen, belonged to S'ang District until 2019, when a sub-decree moved it to Ta Khmau municipality.[3] Some 2,000 families lived on the island in 1996.[1]
In the early 1970s small plots of cannabis were common round houses in Cambodia. The ethnobotanist Marie Alexandrine Martin found that "along the river and closer to Vietnam, cultivation of these plants is of greater importance".[4] Cannabis had traditionally been used in Cambodia as a food spice and a medicine.[1]
Cultivation and the 1996 raid
In 1996 Koh Anlong Chen was one of four islands in Kandal Province with substantial cannabis plantations. Farmers could get about two US dollars a kilogram for the crop, more than legitimate crops brought them.[2]
The United States had recently placed Cambodia on its list of major narcotics transit countries and urged the government to act.[2] On 9 December 1996 the National Assembly passed the Law on Drug Control.[5] Ten days later the police began their campaign against marijuana growers and exporters on Koh Anlong Chen. The deputy police commander, Yeng Marady, said that without it thousands of tons of marijuana would go on being exported.[1]
Boatloads of armed officers crossed to the island without warning. About 100 of them cut down the plants. The farmers put up no resistance.[2] United Press International reported a 10-acre (4 ha) plantation burned;[1] Associated Press Television put the area cut at more than ten hectares.[2] The island's families said they had not been told that growing the crop was a problem and demanded compensation from the police.[1] One farmer, Chan Sy, told the television crew: "This is all I've produced for ages."[2]
Accessions
No accessions documented yet.
Recent news
| Article | Date | Category | Locality | Plants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| News:1996-12-05/Eradication/about-a-hundred-police-officers-cut-down-more-than-ten-hectares-of-cannabis-on-anlong-chen-island-in-kandal | Eradication | Koh Anlong Chen |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Cambodia launches anti-pot drive". Phnom Penh. United Press International. 19 December 1996. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Cambodia: Police Crack Down on Growing of Marijuana". Associated Press Television. 21 December 1996. Retrieved 21 October 2026 – via AP Archive.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 La Rédaction (2 August 2026). "Cambodia: Kaoh Anlong Chen, the Quiet Bassac at Phnom Penh's Doorstep". Cambodgemag. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Martin, Marie Alexandrine (1975). "Ethnobotanical Aspects of Cannabis in Southeast Asia". In Rubin, Vera (ed.). Cannabis and Culture. The Hague: Mouton. pp. 63–76. doi:10.1515/9783110812060.63.
- ↑ "Drug law passed as critics cry foul". Phnom Penh Post. 13 December 1996. Retrieved 16 October 2026.