From our first front in the war on terror. How’s that working out for us, again?
… Afghanistan marred what would have otherwise been an encouraging story on the fight to reduce illegal global drug production, the [UN report (pdf)] said.
The country accounted for 92% of the world’s illegal opium production, up from 52% a decade earlier and 70% in 2000.
Exacerbating the problem, higher yields in Afghanistan, as compared to other opium producing regions, had lifted global opium production to a record high of 6,610 tonnes in 2006, a 43% increase from 2005. …
The article goes on to say that from 2005-2006, the land area devoted to poppy cultivation expanded by 59 percent.
We could consider doing something crazy with all that opium, the only reasonably compensated cash crop many Afghan farmers can grow, and buy it to turn into medicinal narcotic painkillers. But that’s just crazy talk. I mean, lords know, we wouldn’t want to do anything that would allow the impoverished farmers of Afghanistan to earn a living off of something besides criminal enterprise.
that subject comes up in my interview with Criminal Justice Professor Matthew Robinson who co-authored Lies, Damned Laws, and Drug War Statistics. Refer to the right sidebar in the recommended diaiies list as well as recent diaries list.
That’s a great idea, though I’m embarrassed at how obvious it is. Those Afghan farmers could be equally well paid to grow practically anything else, too — I’m sure they’re just trying to make a living and not ideologically committed to feeding the world heroin trade.
Of course, when it comes to narcotics policy, the west always seems to prefer the gun to common snense.
The article notes that a lot of them have land in areas where they can’t get much else to grow. And nothing else pays as well. Also noted in the article, and elsewhere that I’ve read, all the plans to help them get paid for alternative crops have fallen through.