UN - Afghanistan produces 92% of the world's opium, market worth $65bn

Well, I'm not surprised as I recently informed ATS that the US had changed its stance on opium, deciding to go after the drug lords and not the opium, actually turning it into a legal drug for the 'Poppy for Medicine' initiative.

As outlined in my thread US ditch opium flield eradication days before July1 offensive in poppy centre!

But here are some more shocking stats from the UN:

Afghan opium fuels 'global chaos'

Afghanistan has a monopoly on illegal opium production that has devastating global consequences, a UN report says.

UN findings say an opium market worth $65bn (£39bn) funds global terrorism, caters to 15 million addicts, and kills 100,000 people every year.

The UN says corruption, lawlessness and uncontrolled borders result in only 2% of Afghan opiates being seized locally.

The UN says more Russians die annually from Afghan drugs than Soviet soldiers were killed during its Afghan conflict.

Afghanistan produces 92% of the world's opium, with the equivalent of 3,500 tonnes leaving the country each year.

And the actual UNODC website.

21 October 2009 - Afghanistan has a monopoly on global opium poppy cultivation (92 per cent), the raw material for the world's deadliest drug - heroin. The size and impact of the opium economy in Afghanistan were documented in the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2009 published in September. Less well known, however, is the size of the opiate trade once it leaves Afghanistan, and its impact on the world.

In a new report, Addiction, Crime and Insurgency: The Transnational Threat of Afghan Opium, UNODC shows the devastating consequences that the 900 tons of opium and 375 tons of heroin that are trafficked from Afghanistan every year have on the health and security of countries along the Balkan and Eurasian drug routes, of countries in Europe, of China, India and the Russian Federation.

It documents how the world's deadliest drug has created a market worth $65 billion, catering to 15 million addicts, causing up to 100,000 deaths per year, spreading HIV at an unprecedented rate and, not least, funding criminal groups, insurgents and terrorists.

"We have identified the global consequences of the Afghan opium trade. Some are devastating, but expected; others seem surprising, yet they are very real. I urge the friends of Afghanistan to recognize that, to a large extent, these uncomfortable truths may be the result of their benign neglect", said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa at the unveiling of the new report.

Large quantities of opium used, small quantities seized

The report's findings reveal a number of anomalies. One such anomaly is the incongruence between the large quantities of heroin being consumed and the small quantities being seized. Approximately 40 per cent of Afghanistan's heroin is trafficked each year into Pakistan, about 30 per cent enters the Islamic Republic of Iran and 25 per cent flows into Central Asia. In Afghanistan, corruption, lawlessness and uncontrolled borders result in an insignificant 2 per cent interception rate of the opiates produced, compared to 36 per cent in Colombia for coc aine.

Please check out the links as I can't quote all the info there.

Needless to say, the US has turned opium into a legal cash crop, but at the same time the NWO tool (UN) is bemoaning the fact that we aren't doing enough to fight heroin, opium and poppies, you can't have it both ways, ah but with sheeple you can!

reply to post by kiwifoot


I think we should let them grow it and then take half of the revenue. We could use it to pay for the wars. Ahhh, I love Capitalism.

Originally posted by VitalTimes
reply to post by kiwifoot

 

I think we should let them grow it and then take half of the revenue. We could use it to pay for the wars. Ahhh, I love Capitalism.

Mate you are not far off, check out the links I provided, the US decided that the Afghani Opium fields were better off as a commodity, to be sold as medical OPIUM - if you think I'm full of it check out the links! The decided that then said they'd go after the drug lords not the fields.

reply to post by kiwifoot


Seems like good business to me. I say we take half the cut on oil in Iraq too and then all the sudden we turn these wars profitable, and what is more Amerian than turning something bad into something good.

Disclaimer: To abide by ATS T&C I am not advocating drug use and please to not post any personal experiences about drug use.

Screw it, we should grow it here.

It would create jobs and industry.

-Money for America-

It would destroy a large portion of international drug trafficking cartels.

-Money for America, reduction in violence-

We would need to legalize/decriminalize small amounts of opiates like other country's have done and are doing then we could use the money from the failed war on drugs for education and drug rehabilitation.

-Less face it addicts get their drugs regardless, let's get it regulated and put the profits back into the economy for things like education instead of shipping it off to Mexican drug cartels and Afghani war lords.-

Also, loads of money are being spent to ship our men/women to protect Afghani fields, domestic production = no need to send troops to guard foreign cash crops.

-Money for America, reduction in violence, death of service men/women-







[edit on 21-10-2009 by lucentenigma]

reply to post by lucentenigma


Absolutely Brilliant. We could become the thing which shall remain nameless capitol of the world. Just think American ingenuity and the thing which shall remain nameless market.

reply to post by lucentenigma


It's not that I don't think they are doing wrong, it's actually pretty shrewd, but don't pretend to the world you're fighting the drugs trade when you're not!

That policy change on opium was so badly reported it took some digging to find it!

It should have been front page news, the whole of the US should have know that the US military was effectively babysitting the opium crop!

But aside from that, good move lol!

reply to post by kiwifoot


If you do some more digging (if you want I will try to find some links for you) you will find that the Taliban came into power and cut opium production down to a very low percentage.

We couldn't have the worlds opium supply disrupted so what to we do? Invade!

After we knocked out the Taliban production skyrocketed.

Originally posted by lucentenigma
Disclaimer: To abide by ATS T&C I am not advocating drug use and please to not post any personal experiences about drug use.

Screw it, we should grow it here.

It would create jobs and industry.

-Money for America-

It would destroy a large portion of international drug trafficking cartels.

-Money for America, reduction in violence-

We would need to legalize/decriminalize small amounts of opiates like other country's are have done and are doing then we could use the money from the failed war on drugs for education and drug rehabilitation.

-Less face it addicts get their drugs regardless, let's get it regulated and put the profits back into the economy for things like education instead of shipping it off to Mexican drug cartels and Afghani war lords.-

Also, loads of money are being spent to ship our men/women to protect Afghani fields, domestic production = no need to send troops to guard foreign cash crops.

-Money for America, reduction in violence, death of service men/women-






[edit on 21-10-2009 by lucentenigma]

Truth be told, I agree with you. It's really all just a huge mess now so people need to find out who's who and who is with you and then go the way it has always gone...you and yours "Get Your Pull". Go big or go home because nobody else would think twice about it when push comes to shove. Hold on to the goods, take care of those who help you as you demand the same of them.

Originally posted by lucentenigma
reply to post by kiwifoot

 

If you do some more digging (if you want I will try to find some links for you) you will find that the Taliban came into power and cut opium production down to a very low percentage.

We couldn't have the worlds opium supply disrupted so what to we do? Invade!

After we knocked out the Taliban production skyrocketed.

Yeah that's what I heard too!

I wouldn't mind if the opium was destined for morphine, I mean %1oo, but you just know that it will find its way to the street as heroin!

i hate the U.S. governments double standards.

they bring it to a whole new definition..

reply to post by lucentenigma


I couldn't agree with you more. I think all drugs should be legalized (with age restrictions, of course) and all the money currently being spent trying to enforce unrealistic laws should be invested in something more worthwhile, like education.

Of course this would require individuals to take responsibility for there own actions and the police to spend there resources on violent crime. It might even close some prisons due to lack of business. What a horrible idea that would be.