Posted on 10/18/2007 2:58:49 PM PDT by UnklGene
The problem with poppies -
What to do with the plants that kill more than pain
Colby Cosh - September 17, 2007
One of the troubling things about NATO's war in Afghanistan is that there continues to be major disagreement between the allies over one of the most important proximate war aims: namely, the interception of funds from opium poppies being used to bankroll guerrilla operations of the Taliban. Not everyone agrees with the U.S.'s determination--reiterated in a State Department policy document Aug. 9--to pursue a policy of poppy eradication through on-the-ground violence and aerial spraying. European governments point out that given the soil and climate in the Afghan boondocks, there aren't a lot of good alternatives to poppy cultivation, and none can compete directly with the illicit heroin trade's dollars. Bringing the American drug war to Afghanistan could eat into Taliban revenues at the expense of creating more recruits for operations against NATO soldiers--or, for that matter, terrorist strikes elsewhere.
So far the rules of engagement for Canadian soldiers forbid the destruction of poppy crops. They've had to make a tough choice between making more enemies in-country by destroying valuable plants and closing their eyes as they literally trudge through the fields of the Taliban underground economy. The Senlis Council, a Canadian-led economic think tank with an office in Kabul, has recently offered a tempting way of solving the dilemma: if we're going to devote Afghan and NATO army resources to annihilating a cash crop, why not try policing it instead and allow legitimate international drug manufacturers to pay competitive prices for the poppies? The logistical difficulties are enormous, but years of U.S. "eradication" in Colombia has hardly taken cocaine out of the industrialized world's nightclub bathrooms.
Strategic analysts have attacked the Senlis plan on the premise that world demand for medicinal opiates is already being met. This is not true even at current prices; the UN drug policy office estimates that legal worldwide production will only meet 86% of expected demand in 2007. But it also assumes static pricing, which means that the Third World is expected to go on paying First World prices for morphine, and makes no provision for the aging of the world's baby boomers, who will need more and more pain meds as they approach their 70s.
The kicker is that even as Canadian policymakers figure out what attitude our soldiers should adopt toward the Afghan poppy, researchers are working on introducing poppy crops right here in the Canadian west--specifically southern Alberta. According to the Alberta Express farm business journal (Aug. 5), agriculture scientists believe that the region is perfectly placed to start growing an engineered poppy variety that produces "thebaine", an opioid precursor that is unsafe for human ingestion but is used to manufacture Percodan, OxyContin, and other synthetic painkillers. Australian farmers already growing the same plant gross about C$6,000 per hectare, and because "thebaine" can't be turned into an opiate in a shed or kitchen, little or no special security would be required.
Can anyone explain why Canadian growers, with their technological base and countless revenue options, are studying analgesic manufacture--but it's not being taken seriously as an alternative in a setting where it might help solve one of the world's most urgent geopolitical crises?
Doesn’t it also bankroll farmers that have a hard time growing other crops?
Bank robbery funds people who can’t get a credit card.
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Colby Cosh - another smooth Canadian!
Banks robbers are the same as farmers?
The high profits from “farming” opium poppies are due to the illegal nature of the activity — same as bank robbing. If the crop were 100% legal, the price would collapse to the point where farmers could make the same growing alternative crops. Those excess crime-related profits don’t only support the farmers — they support the warlords who provide “security”, along with an entire processing and distribution network. And, of course, they also now support the Taliban.
True, but I was commenting on the farmers only, as they would have to alter their method of farming, probably have to buy some new equipment and of course seeds, etc. I think, for a poor poppie farmer, it is a lot cheaper, easier, and productive to continue with what they’ve been doing for years.
Have you ever chewed poppie gum?
No.
Have you?
They poop on the carpet and chew stuff up.
It reminded me of an old turn of 19th century America science fiction story. The protagonist was an MD and was on a legal opium poppy field. The story comes to an end and the MD takes a pinch of gum from a poppy, chews it for a few moments and says to himself, "Hmmmm, this poppy gum is mighty soothing."
And then?
I thought they peed on your couch... :^)
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