Why does the USA not buy up the opium crop in Afghanistan ?

Question

The USA and its allies have tried, with limited success, to operate a crop substitution programme. But many of the farmers who have cooperated complain that they are much worse off than before. I imagine that it would cost far less for the USA and its allies to buy up the entire crop than all the money they spend in trying to suppress the opium trade and paying farmers to switch to other crops, even if they were to pay a premium (say, 25%) over the price currently offered by the middlemen. Then, if any is needed for legitimate medical use, it could be processed and bottled, and the rest could be destroyed.

Incidentally, does anyone have figures for the value of the opium trade to the Afghan economy and the current cost of suppressing the trade ?

Allan Deeds.

Answer 1

Buying opium to stop farmers from growing it is like buying wheat to stop farmers from growing it. Opium is nothing but an agricultural commodity, like any other. All they will do is grow more & sell it to their private customers. In fact the exporters will simply out bid the US government; which will have to raise its bid which will lead then to up their bid & we'll end up with a spiraling market; like with any other commodity in short supply. More & more farmers will get into the market & things will be infinitely worse than it is now.

As to the suppression cost; it is irrelevant because we are NOT suppressing the trade. Every penny spent on fighting it is wasted.

Answer 2

To beat opium for good, however, Afghanistan needs to build an economy that provides an annual income of some $1,000 per year, said Ashraf Ghani, as reported in Bloomberg Markets magazine. Although this is not a huge sum, it is five times 2005 levels—a measure of how much and how quickly Afghanistan’s economy will have to grow if the scourge of poppy production is to be eliminated.

In the three years since the US overthrew Afghanistan's Taliban regime in the wake of the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, Afghanistan has reemerged as the world's leading opium producer. Last year, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the country was responsible for 73% of global opium production, and in new estimates released this week, the UNODC is predicting a 64% increase in production over last year.

According to "officials" cited by the Post, the plan calls for shifting $700 million from other programs into Afghan anti-drug efforts next year. That compares with $123 million spent on similar efforts this year by the Pentagon and the State Department. That money will go to a special Afghan interdiction force to be trained by the British, as well as for other anti-drug police units. It will also help pay for a special task force of judges and prosecutors to handle drug prosecutions -- a task force that the Post reported will be set up inside the Pol-e-Charki prison on the outskirts of Kabul.

Answer 3

You know what? this is one of the best questions I've seen in here! This would certainly solve the heroin problem! Not to mention we would have a corner on the morphine market. Want to stop hurting after your operation, Mr. Castro? All you gotta do is sign this treaty...

Answer 4

THAT IS WHERE ALL THE DRUGIES SHOULD BE SENT FOR LIFE