Afghan Opium Crop: Buy It & Destroy It
It appears that the US is shifting it’s policy towards opium tillage in Afghanistan. Unfortunately I’m not sure how much more effective the new policy will be than the old one. Afghanistan produces 90% of the world’s opium crop worth about $3 billion annually. The heroin made from this opium is estimated to kill about 100,000 Russians, Asians and Europeans.
The Senlis Council, a European think tank, suggested buying a portion of the crop to make morphine for legal medicinal use. Why stop there? Why not buy the whole crop – turn out as much legal morphine as you want – and destroy the rest? Next year do the same thing. Rinse and repeat.
Legalization would deprive the Taliban of the $75-100 million it gets from protecting the crop. It would also encourage a dependence of the farmers and dealers on the US, thereby giving it more control over areas of the country where the Taliban has thrived. Over time that control could be used to encourage diversification of tillage – which is what the new plan is intended to do.
Knock off effects could be interesting. Taking 90% of the crop off the market could make things interesting for those in the illegal heroin business. Costs would skyrocket which would lead to higher crime by addicts and more land devoted to opium in Burma, Thailand, Laos and areas outside of the Golden Triangle.
But US soldiers would have an easier time in Afghanistan, as would the others there working to turn things around. Who knows? Maybe Afghanistan could eventually develop a thriving pharmaceutical export business.
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