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| Afghanistan | |
| Officials Rethink Poppy Strategy | |
| 2014-01-04 | |
| [Tolo News] Minister of Counter Narcotics Din Muhammad Rashedi suggested this week that the strategies used over the past 12 years in fighting endemic poppy cultivation in Afghanistan have been ineffective. He also went so far as to claim that local government officials had been supporting poppy farming around the country. "The current strategy for fighting narcotics is not working and has problems that need to be addressed," Minister Rashedi said. "We can't fight narcotics with this traditional method, that is why we have new programs." Poppy cultivation has increased by 36 percent in the last year, making 2013 a record breaking year for Afghanistan in terms of the amount of land allocated to poppy plants. In addition to drug smugglers and bad boy groups, who are known well to be the major profiteers of the industry, reportedly some government officials are also involved in poppy production and the opium trade.
He said the most important thing moving forward was for the relevant government institutions to work alongside one another and cooperate in their shared effort to curtail the illegal drug trade in Afghanistan. "Lack of cooperation among government institutions is among the key problems in fighting narcotics," the Minister said. "Institutions such as the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, National Directorate of Security, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health must cooperate with each other, and if they don't cooperate in fighting drugs then I will have to deal with them." | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Agent Grape would be even better, a new market for Thunderbird would be created. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-01-04 13:02 |
| #3 I'm sure drones could be equipped to deliver Agent Orange. But that'd be hard on the locals... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2014-01-04 11:05 |
| #2 Sounds like a job for Monsanto - GMO poppy. Lots of possibilities there - maybe a cross with Bhot Jolokia. And just the rumor of Monsanto ought to be good fun. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-01-04 09:46 |
| #1 "In some instances, local government officials not only fight narcotics, but they also give the green light to farmers for production," Rashedi said. Think Chicago, it's a licensing and revenue thing. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-01-04 08:06 |