"Burma?s drug traffickers rake in cash from the ashes of destroyed narcotics... RANGOON — PICTURES of seized illegal drugs being burnt by Burmese authorities make good publicity. But they don?t tell the full story. More than 60 public ceremonies in which confiscated drugs are burnt have been held in Burma in the past two years, 20 of them in Rangoon. What the authorities fail to mention in the publicity surrounding the ceremonies, however, is that the drugs aren?t totally destroyed. The charred remains of the burnt drugs are recovered and resold as joe kyan, meaning ?burnt remnants.? A vial of ashes fetches 5,000 kyat (US $4.17), while a small block of charcoal sells for 3,000 kyat ($2.50). ?The charcoal and ashes of joe kyan are then ground into powder,? a market trader said. ?Users mix this with cheroot tobacco and smoke it.?..."