And I quote, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium... "Global regulation of opium began with the stigmatization of Chinese immigrants and opium dens,[where?] leading rapidly from town ordinances in the 1870s to the formation of the International Opium Commission in 1909. During this period, the portrayal of opium in literature became squalid and violent, British opium trade was largely supplanted by domestic Chinese production, purified morphine and heroin became widely available for injection, and patent medicines containing opiates reached a peak of popularity. Opium was prohibited in many countries during the early twentieth century, leading to the modern pattern of opium production as a precursor for illegal recreational drugs or tightly regulated legal prescription drugs. Illicit opium production, now dominated by Afghanistan, was decimated in 2000 when production was banned by the Taliban, but has increased steadily since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and over the course of the War in Afghanistan[1][2]. Worldwide production in 2006 was 6610 metric tonnes[3] - nearly one-fifth the level of production in 1906. Opium for illegal use is often converted into heroin, which multiplies its potency to approximately twice that of morphine, can be taken by intravenous injection, and is easier to smuggle.[citation needed]"


Does something seem suspicious about that paragraph, to you?

Will opium make Marijuana obsolete?

No, I don't think that Opium will make Marijuana obsolete. Opium has far less pleasant side effects than marijuana, and it is more difficult to procure.

You missed the suspicious relationship between opium production, the Taliban, and the war in Afghanistan. Try again.

ohhhhhhhhh, its a test

It was interesting and I was wanting to keep your thread alive.
Loooong time ago, I smoked opium and I preferred it over Mj.

"It was interesting and I was wanting to keep your thread alive.
Loooong time ago, I smoked opium and I preferred it over Mj."

Really?
I don't like opium, at least not in the forms I've had it.
But, then, I've never enjoyed being high for pleasure.

And, no, it is not a test.
I'm simply wondering if it's a valid connection to make. Is it economically valid to start a war over opium production? I understand that drugs drive a large portion of the world economy, but it seems as though this would have been brought to our attention before now, if that were the case...

It's been going on for years. Here are some good articles about it.

http://www.comw.org/warreport/afghanarchiveopium.html

It will continue as long as their people struggle with poverty.

Thank you, Winx. That was very helpful.

You're welcome.

It's been catching my eye. The Taliban are getting richer with every crop.

Where have you been hiding?

Opium production is a major source of income for the Taliban!
Of course that isnt why we are in Afghanistan. We are there because they attacked us!

Remember?

Fanta, learn your facts! The Taliban had iradicated the opium fields in Afganistan until the USA attacked. Then the CIA not only restarted the fields but increased the production and export of opium from the triangle.

Check you facts before declaring someone incorrect. This is old "documented" news! I bet you still believe Saddam had WMDs they still can't find don't you?

CIA = Cocaine Importers of America

As far as them attacking us.......PROVE IT!

http://www.comw.org/warreport/afghanarchiveopium.html

Within the last 2 years before the US occupation of Afganistan, the Taliban destroyed the opium fields. It is documented in a report filed an logged into the Library Of Congress and I will try to refind it and post it.

The media, and the sources you list Winx, by no means tell the REAL story. I think I will trust the LOC on this one, but you are welcome to believe what and who you wish.

Fanta says "they attacked us...remember?" Seems to me all the supposed hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, at least that is the "proof" the government used in their defense.

I will read it, if you find it, Sojourning Soul.

I do believe that the link that I showed has a lot of information though.

The Taliban only sees a small fraction of the income created by the Opium production. Countries seeing the heroin end of the production are getting a lot more benefit from it. Also, did ANYONE actually read the original post? The Taliban tried to eradicate opium production. When they failed, they attempted to fine, tax, punish, confiscate, and otherwise discourage production. Since the war in Afghanistan began, opium production has INCREASED. Since the Taliban's reign has begun to suffer, opium production has INCREASED. In spite of the online news articles, the production evidence is pointing in the opposite direction. Explain, please.

My apologies if I seem belligerent, but I am not the kind of person that is satisfied with contradictory evidence...

For one year in 2000!

As far as them attacking us.
Youd have to be a conspiracy theorist not to believe Bin Ladens confession, and
Blind not to have seen the two planes crash into the world trade centers, or the one crash into the Pentagon!

I've been hearing on NPR News that the Taliban is involved with the poppy business.

Newsweek:

"While law enforcers predict yet another record opium harvest in Afghanistan this spring, most farmers are struggling to survive. An estimated 500,000 Afghan families support themselves by raising poppies, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. Last year those growers received an estimated $1 billion for their crops—about $2,000 per household. With at least six members in the average family, opium growers' per capita income is roughly $300. The real profits go to the traffickers, their Taliban allies and the crooked officials who help them operate. The country's well-oiled narcotics machine generates in excess of $4 billion a year from exports of processed opium and heroin—more than half of Afghanistan's $7.5 billion GDP, according to the UNODC."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/129577?from=rss

One year!


The Taliban opium ban in 2000/2001 had, there is no doubt, the most profound impact on opium/heroin supply in modern history, as the authors argue. Exogenous global causes can indeed be eliminated as explanations. It was a rare historical moment that allowed almost absolute compliance in the south of the country, with hardly any direct enforcement or punishment required. From the eastern regions, where Taliban control was far from absolute, several cases of disobedience were reported, largely resolved by means of negotiations and pay-offs to local war lords. By harvest time in spring 2001, the effectiveness of the ban was already confirmed beyond any doubt, and astonished the international community at the time. (Major Donors mission, 2001). Bernard Frahi, then head of the office in Pakistan of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, at the time operating under another name but for the purpose of consistency and ease of reading UNODC is used throughout this text), applauded the success of the opium ban: "This is the first time that a country has decided to eliminate in one go - not gradually - these crops on its territory," and called it "one of the most remarkable successes ever" in the UN drug fight. Sandeep Chawla, head of UNODC research cautioned later, however, that "in drug control terms it was an unprecedented success, but in humanitarian terms a major disaster" (Transnational Institute, 2001).

The consequences of the virtual disappearance of the opium economy for one year in Afghanistan -except in the Northern Alliance controlled areas- is one of the issues the authors leave largely untouched. One of the most dramatic consequences of the ban was the breakdown of the informal credit system based on opium. During the second half of 2000 and the first half of 2001, additional hundreds of thousands Afghan refugees were displaced internally or moved towards Pakistan and Iran, amongst them many indebted former poppy farmers unable to live through the winter and defaulting on their seasonal loans. Farmers were forced to reschedule their payments -one of the direct causes behind the full rebound of poppy cultivation the following year- and sell land, livestock, and even their young daughters (Bearak, 2001, IRIN, 2001).

More,,,
http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?page=archives_jelsma_taliban

I suggest we take a portion of the war on drugs money, buy their opium, and then destroy it. We allow them to survive, and keep their products from destroying lives throughout the world.