How do we solve the Afghanistan Heroin Problem?

Question

The international community has sought to crack down on the war-weary nation's record poppy crops. Next year Afghanistan is estimated to increase heroin sales by 20%.Opium production soared last year to 6400 tons, and Afghanistan now produces 92 percent of the world’s heroin.

Answer 1

The heroin problem has it's roots here in the United States. If you research the web you will discover who is responsible for the majority of the drug trade in the world and why.

The "war on drugs" does not have very much to do with ending the "drug problem." If you study the Vietnam war in depth you will be able to draw a straight line to Afghanistan. It is amusing to me that we Americans have never shut off our TV's long enough to study why the consumption of illegal narcotics has gone up ten fold in the last 20 years. That's right, it has increased ten times.

Here's a hint. During the Vietnam war a junior officer aboard a United States Navy aircraft carrier discovered two tons of opium in the anchor hold. Now keep in mind that a bunch of swabbies didn't combine their $147 a month paychecks to buy $600,000,000 worth of pure 100% off the poppy farm opium. I'll let you figure it out why WE still have a drug problem and why WE invaded Afghanistan. It's more fun that way.

Answer 2

Have the CIA stop buying it.

http://www.converge.org.nz/pirm/cia.htm

Under US occupation, Afghan opium production has risen from 3,700 tons in 2002, to 3,400 tons in 2003, to 4,200 tons last year. The Financial Times wrote, "The U.S. and UN have ignored repeated calls by the international antidrugs community to address the increasing menace of Afghanistan's opium cultivation." It is now the world's leading producer of illicit drugs, producing 90% of the heroin sold in Britain and Europe. President Karzai of Afghanistan has made Rashid Dostum, a warlord, drug runner and terrorist, his military chief of staff.

According to the Colombian government, the antigovernment guerrillas of FARC (the supposed target of the 'war on drugs') had 2.5% of Colombia's cocaine trade; the government's allies, the paramilitary death squads, had 40%. Drug production in Colombia and its drug imports to the USA have now doubled to a new record.

Perhaps if the CIA would stop dealing in drugs in the first place from the questionable governments of these countries, we would have such problems. But they do, and the rest of society has to pay for it in the form of 'blow back'. Which is what we have now. Which in turn gives us more drugs on the black market.

Answer 3

Afghanistan has the unique role of demonstrating how ridiculous BOTH the "war on terror" is and the "war on drugs".

Under the Taliban, poppy production had been severely reduced. In fact, prior to 911, our government was praising their efforts despite the other atrocities going on there. Although some of the money that comes from the sell of poppy gets in taliban hands, the vast majority of profits go to foreign middlemen (including many americans) who markup the product to market value after it leaves the country. Poppy cultivation for many is the only logical source of income for a country that has been at constant war for decades.

The only way to reduce production is to reduce demand.

Answer 4

Actually we ARE the Afghanistan Heroin Problem.
We installed the biggest drug dealer in Afghanistan as the Defense Minister. General Dotsum, former leader of the "Northern Alliance" personally supervised the murder of 1,200 Detainees in one afternoon. He was a drug dealer before now He's a super drug dealer.

Answer 5

We can solve this problem by making heroin legal. The reason why you have drug smugglers and drug traffickers is because our laws create black markets for the scum of the earth. You don't see any problem with illegal coffee, do you?....Exactly.

Answer 6

It is not a problem for them. They make money off of it. In many cases it is the only crop a local farmer can make enough off of to feed his family.
The problem with it in the US is we cannot stop the inflow of it.

Answer 7

Why do anything? The war on drugs is as unsuccessful as the war on terrorism is shaping up to be.

Answer 8

A genetically modified opium poppy which has no opium.

Answer 9

It is to late to stop it by what we call civilized behavior, the only way to stop it is to do like China does and line up all users and sellers and eliminate them by way of firing squad.

Answer 10

I think we should let them. What business is it of ours to tell another country what should be legal or illegal? We are failing at policing our own 'War on Drugs'.