Where is Afghanistan's "missing" opium?

This is not new news: Large stockpiles of opium began disappearing from Afghanistan several years ago. But the mystery of where it is all going remians unsolved.

Since street prices of of heroin have remained relatively stable, the missing opium is likely being stockpiled. But if so, by who? And for what purpose? The MSM suspects the Taliban but others aren't so sure. Opium is more chemically stable than most drugs, so it can be stored for years without losing much of its potency.

When considering the figurs below, remember that Afghanistan is the source of a staggering 93% of all opiates in the world (PDF source).

Enough Afghan opium to supply world demand for two years has effectively gone missing, with the Taliban suspected of stockpiling supplies in a bid to corner the market, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has revealed.

..."We figure the world needs around 4,000 tons of opium a year for licit and illicit purposes," Walter Kemp of the UNODC told CNN. Has enough empasis been placed on drug trafficking?

"But this year around 6,900 tons was produced, with 7,700 tons delivered last year and more than 8,500 the year before that. Map showing where Afghan opium is going »

"So if the world only needs around 4,000 tons of opium and a further 1,000 is seized, where is the rest of it going?"

According to Kemp, world demand for opium remains stable yet prices are not crashing, which suggests a large amount of opium is being withheld from the market...

More at source (2008 link):
edition.cnn.com...

When the Russians recently asked the US to destroy the heroin, the US said NO.
It has been shown, and it has been admitted that the US is guarding
the stuff, and that's right from the State department apparently.
just like Viet Nam, Colombia, Mexico- all no different.

The taliban had the opium crop down to almost zero, which is one of the main reasons the US attacked them, because the western banks can not survive without that money, so to say they are dealing the dope is....ludicris

PS
FandS

[edit on 10-7-2010 by Danbones]

We know where it is....

It is flooding our streets and fueling crime

reply to post by silent thunder



A different form of chemical warfare .

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Here`s a thread from 2009 on the subject.
Two years of World Opium supply gone missing posted on 23-9-2009 by Serbsta

It a valuable source of revenue and now that the Taliban have gotten a taste for it.... are unlikely to to give it up.

Producing heroin in Afghanistan makes it easier to conceal and transport than the bulkier raw opium.

link

They have cut out the middlemen . $$$$$$$


Is NATO to Blame for Russia`s Afghan Heroin Problem ?

It is probably being stockpiled, to be handed out and used as a pain-killer when SHTF.

It's funding black ops like the Iran Contra Affair and probably going to PMCs and enemy countries... From memory I remember reading about a growing problem of Heroin in China etc...

Originally posted by Master Shen long
We know where it is....

It is flooding our streets and fueling crime

It's still in the duffel bags I brought back. Party in my basement!

Originally posted by 35Foxtrot

Originally posted by Master Shen long
We know where it is....

It is flooding our streets and fueling crime

It's still in the duffel bags I brought back. Party in my basement!

Im on my way......

2nd line

All that missing opium is in the veins of oh so many Americans.

reply to post by UmbraSumus


Star for that post - I'd never thought or considered it in that phrasing before.

Or there's the belief that we should be questioning where the pharma's get their supply from. Not saying for certain but wouldn't rule it out. There's no doubt it is going somewhere, and I doubt it is anywhere we would want it to be going.

-Cauch1

I debated posting this information about Poppies because I suspect that someone will take this information and act upon it; however, I am not responsible for those that cannot realize good from bad and any information I say is readily available on the internet.

I realize this is a bit off-topic, but with any topic facts about the subject matter certainly makes for a more informed mind.

All members of the Poppy Family Papaveraceae contain Opiates. Each and everyone of them. So chances are those cute little 'Peony Poppies' that Granny is growing out front, or those Shirley Poppies out back have the same kind of Opiates as the more potent kind grown in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (not to mention anywhere else for that matter).

There are levels of Potency, but often quantity can surpass Potency for any effect.

Why would I say such a thing? Well, because one day soon in the future some of us might need Opium for medicinal purposes and there will be no Hospitals/Pharmacies as we take for granted today. Say for instance you are living in an isolated community and someone needs to have a tooth pulled, well there you go! What if someone has appendicitis? How would you perform surgery and keep them alive if you don't have some means of numbing the patient. I certainly would not want to sedate the patient the traditional way with gases or intravenously. The examples are endless and I am not condoning that someone perform surgery without a license but one day things may not always be as we think they should. Just as I think every household should have a professional suture kit, they too should have the means to contain and use Natures' medications.

The identifier of the "true" most potent Opium Poppy are the seeds. The seeds to this one are white, pure white; the name is 'Indica'. The bloom is not the traditional red or the combo white with red, but in fact a pure white bloomer. It is interesting to note that the average person who is unfamiliar with Opium Poppies generally thinks of the color red instead of white. Even police officers will look over the traditional Oriental Poppies with suspicion long before their eyes lock in on the Big White Blooms in the front yard; even though, like I said, they all have Opiates.

So those fancy Poppy seeds on the Bagel, yeah the tasty ones, those can be grown to become beautiful red flowering poppies with all the makings of any drug on the market. The difference in the store-bought poppy seeds is that most are sterilized before they hit the market. However, if you find yourself in a craft outlet and see those big dried Poppy pods for decorating, break one open and you can grow the seed even decades after sitting on the shelf. Poppies are quite resilient.

So do you grow Opiates in the front yard? Most people do and it is perfectly Legal. Odd that a friendly green plant is so admonished in Society when in fact it too makes a nice addition to the cultured landscape! They must be Landscaping Hypocrites!

Originally posted by Master Shen long
We know where it is....

It is flooding our streets and fueling crime

Unlike marijuana.

It is probably being gathered up by the CIA and put into our streets like they have done with so many other drugs. Herion, Meth (once given to soldiers by the gov) coc aine are distributed by the CIA (christians in action) either directly or indirectly by turning a blind eye thru secretive dealings under the guise of "operation of government" and other lies. The purpose has always been to create business for law enforcement (both fed & local) because if you really think about it, addiction is traceable and supply points are easily identifiable with just a small amount of surveillance. If there were no "drug war" then our police wouldn't have an excuse to dress up like the military and run amuck with assault weapons runing the lives of people just trying to get by at the end of a hard day's work by smoking some bud.

While I do believe that herion, coc aine, meth are worthy cadidates for being illegal, marijuana's illegal status is based on nothing more than lies of those law makers who made it illegal.

Facts

[edit on 8/25/2010 by mikelee]

reply to post by mikelee
well you beat me to it but i think is this time of the world they are going world wide with it, not like the 60's when we just had us and the uk ,but now we have the IMF world bank, and the EU.

Marijuana was originally criminalised in the US because of the racial prejudice at the time and the propaganda of timber industrialists. Claims along the lines of "Negroes smoke marijuana and then think themselves equal to white men" and the like.

Oh and I prefer Cocaine Importing Agency .

-Cauch1