Well done us...

That graph makes very interesting reading.

At a guess, it looks like the warlords (1980-1990) who controlled the opium business, probably had to shut up that particular cottage industry during the 1990's as the Taliban became more prominent.

Then when the Talban were ousted in 2001 - and the Americans sub-contracted back power to the warlords, they opened up for business again.

Great !

Fantastic options :

1. If you want to flood the west with heroin, press the red button and key in
on your remote control, number 1.
2. If you prefer to have no supplies of heroin leaving Afghanistan, then vote
for the Taliban by pressing the red button and key in on your remote
control, number 2.

limerickman said:

That graph makes very interesting reading.

At a guess, it looks like the warlords (1980-1990) who controlled the opium business, probably had to shut up that particular cottage industry during the 1990's as the Taliban became more prominent.

Then when the Talban were ousted in 2001 - and the Americans sub-contracted back power to the warlords, they opened up for business again.

Great !

Fantastic options :

1. If you want to flood the west with heroin, press the red button and key in
on your remote control, number 1.
2. If you prefer to have no supplies of heroin leaving Afghanistan, then vote
for the Taliban by pressing the red button and key in on your remote
control, number 2.

It's like iraq really, you bugger it up by trying to help... we really don't have any where enough appreciation of the limits of our abilities or the consequences of our our actions....

one of a few ways to make big $ in that part of the world 🙁
oh well. better way would be to invest in anti-drug education/prevention then getting rid of the poppies themselves, as there are loads of countries which will produce it without afghanistan

i know [censored] about this but where does the world supply of Morphine come from?

does Afghanistan contribute to some of thier opium for medical supplies or is it purely just drug lords harvesting this crop..

just curious, thats still a horrific amout of opium for such a poor country to produce and i imagine its mostly used for ilicit purposes.

I don't have quite the same problem over Afghanistan as I do over Iraq. There were actual training camps in Afghanistan where fanatics were being trained to carry out suicide bombings in western countries. But, above all, the Taliban repressed women, abused women and degraded women. Afghanistan is better off without the Taliban.
My only complaint over Afghanistan was the fact Taliban prisoners ended up in Guantanamo Bay where they weren't treated according to standard conventions. That is, if former SS generals and Nazi soldiers could be treated under the Geneva Convention when captured during the second world war, the same should apply to all POW's.
Consider how you would have felt if you yourself had been flogged in public for not wearing a veil, being denied education and freedom of speech. That's how Afghan women suffered under the Taliban and I guess many women are glad the Americans got rid of them when they did.

Ssushi said:

(sarcasm - on)

We certainly made Afganistan a better place for us and them....

(sarcasm-off)

Ssushi said:

(sarcasm - on)

We certainly made Afganistan a better place for us and them....

(sarcasm-off)

Yes it's capitalism in action. Have you heard of the quote attributed to one of the big bankrobber's of the 30's-40's? When asked why he robbed bank's, he replied " because that's where the money is !!!" Narcotic's offer a large payoff for a relatively low initial capital investment. It makes economic sense as opposed to growing corn. When i see a young highschool drop-out standing on the corner counting a roll of hundred's it reminds me of the enticement of the lucrative trade. The british profitted from it before the opium war's correct? Now it's job security ("cash cow"😉 for law enforcement. Then there's the whole issue of drug use in the road rider arena albeit synthetic legal(?) drug's.

MountainPro said:

i know [censored] about this but where does the world supply of Morphine come from?

does Afghanistan contribute to some of thier opium for medical supplies or is it purely just drug lords harvesting this crop..

just curious, thats still a horrific amout of opium for such a poor country to produce and i imagine its mostly used for ilicit purposes.

1. Canada
2. Tasmania

Grown in fields with 4m high fences, watchtowers like the Berlin wall and electronic surveillance (at least it is in Tasmania, I haven't been to Canada).

None of the Afghan crop goes for medical usage, except perhaps locally.

There is a simple solution: register the world's users and legalise it (heroin) for those users. It could be supplied for pennies a day, under safe and clean conditions. We already know from various pilot studies that such a move doesn't increase usage. And we'd all save an absolute bloody enormous ocean of money. Organised crime would disappear or shrink beyond belief. Another thing we have to thank the Merkins for.

artemidorus said:

1. Canada
2. Tasmania

Grown in fields with 4m high fences, watchtowers like the Berlin wall and electronic surveillance (at least it is in Tasmania, I haven't been to Canada).

None of the Afghan crop goes for medical usage, except perhaps locally.

There is a simple solution: register the world's users and legalise it (heroin) for those users. It could be supplied for pennies a day, under safe and clean conditions. We already know from various pilot studies that such a move doesn't increase usage. And we'd all save an absolute bloody enormous ocean of money. Organised crime would disappear or shrink beyond belief. Another thing we have to thank the Merkins for.

I share your view here. The Americans seem intractible on this issue. It is worth noting that many of the colonists, who settled in the U.S., were considered religiously unorthodox (?); back in their country of origin so it goes to reason that there is a residual socially conservative mind-set, here. Politicians, not mentioning any names here, run on piety.How unfortunate that emotions get in the way of reason. As you state, pilot programs have pointed to success but no matter. They will hear nothing of it 🙄

Afghanistan has had a terrible drought for several years and the regular food crops have essentially died off. Poppies are very drought tollerant, so it's essentially the only viable way to feed your family.

The US needs to tread carefully or the place will blow up - nothing like watching your kids starving to motivate a rebel.