The Solution To Afghanistan’s Opium? [View All]

The Solution To Afghanistan’s Opium?
Earlier this year the head of the United Nations drugs control agency said efforts to tackle Afghanistan’s growing drugs trade were failing. The UK-based development agency Spirit Aid offers a radical solution to the problem.

Marc Deeley, BBC
Afghani poppy fields
Afghanistan produces 75% of the world’s opium, says the UN

During the 1990s, five or six provinces in Afghanistan were cultivating opium poppy. Since the fall of the Taleban, that number has increased to 28 out of 32 regions. That is a major factor in worsening violence this year as people struggle to survive and fight for control of this illegal, socially damaging but lucrative resource.

Afghan farmers produce opium that is sold for some $2.3bn, according to United Nations estimates.

Its value is vastly inflated beyond that by the time it reaches its western consumers.

Despite this, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest places on Earth.

Collectively the farmers receive less than half a per cent of the wealth generated by their illegal crops. Much of the revenue ends up with local militias.

Environmentally Friendly

The organisation I work for, Spirit Aid, has developed a plan to replace Afghan opium — 75% of the global supply — with industrial hemp.

MORE......http://www.globalhemp.com/News/2004/November/the-solution-to-afghanistan.php