Opium production in Afghanistan has plummeted since the Taliban banned cultivation of the poppy plant, according to a UN report published on Sunday.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers pledged to wipe out the country’s drug industry, banning poppy cultivation in April 2022.
Poppy plants are the source of opium and heroin. Afghanistan was the world’s biggest opium producer and a major source for heroin in Europe and Asia before the Taliban takeover.
So to stop growing drugs is a bad thing now?
We never stopped it for a reason during all the time the US was there. You need to establish an alternative income for the farmers. They grow poppy because it feeds their families. Ironically the big profits were only seen by the Taliban and not the actual farmers.
Now the farmers can’t just switch to almonds or other high value crops instantly so they will go broke. And many of the US attempts to fund the transition away from poppies were corrupted by Afghan government, making farmers move back to poppies.
20 years of US occupation and almost 50k civilian deaths and its worse than before, sounds about right.
The main takeaway is this backwards country cannot be fixed by anyone and shouldn’t be supported
Women in Kabul in the 1970s:
Looks to me like it was fixed just fine before it was broken.
everyone always posting pictures of Persian women in the 70s wearing western clothing and claiming it was better… you are looking at a very small sliver of the population who are wealthy
They’re not Persian women, they’re Afghani. And it was better for them because they could wear whatever they wanted, go to school and listen to music.
And it lasted all of, what, a decade? For an extremely small, wealthy elite minority of the population. The vast, vast majority were still rural, and I assure you they didn’t build a national rural system of education and culture in that decade.
1965 - The Afghan Communist Party secretly forms. The group’s principal leaders are Babrak Karmal and Nur Mohammad Taraki.
1973 - Khan overthrows the last king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, in a military coup. Khan’s regime, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, comes to power. Khan abolishes the monarchy and names himself president. The Republic of Afghanistan is established with firm ties to the USSR.
1975-1977 - Khan proposes a new constitution that grants women rights and works to modernize the largely communist state. He also cracks down on opponents, forcing many suspected of not supporting Khan out of the government.
1978 - Khan is killed in a communist coup. Nur Mohammad Taraki, one of the founding members of the Afghan Communist Party, takes control of the country as president, and Babrak Karmal is named deputy prime minister. They proclaim independence from Soviet influence, and declare their policies to be based on Islamic principles, Afghan nationalism and socioeconomic justice. Taraki signs a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union. But a rivalry between Taraki and Hafizullah Amin, another influential communist leader, leads to fighting between the two sides.
At the same time, conservative Islamic and ethnic leaders who objected to social changes introduced by Khan begin an armed revolt in the countryside. In June, the guerrilla movement Mujahadeen is created to battle the Soviet-backed government.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan
This wasn’t what life looked like on the farm.
I’m well aware.
Still same shit, (slightly) different country.
Still very few privileged people.
Imagine if these opium farmers showed pictures of yachts and said this is America?
Very few as opposed to zero? And was it the law that women had to be covered up and weren’t allowed to go to school or listen to music?
Thats kinda rough. America sucks but I am sure it can be fixed if americans want to fix it
I am doubtful. The powers that be are simply resting their legs on the American people. I imagine if we actually pushed back they might start unfolding the real weapons of oppression. Once upon a time we fought the robber barron’s and won. Not sure it will be so simple the next time.
That’s a valid point, though the article sounds like cultivation was going on during the the time the Taliban wasn’t in control and is now being banned by them.
I have no doubt that the actual farmers got nothing of value in either regimes though.
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Considering Street Fentanyl and Carfentanyl yeah. Believe it or not ( I can’t believe I am saying this) plant based opiates are weaker and therefore safer than the synthetic stuff. The removal of the weaker stuff leads to an increase in risk for addiction to synthetic opiates across the world
Times a changin’ old man better keep up before you get left behind.
Drugs are medicine. The fact that drugs can be abused does not make them something bad in general. For many pain patients around the world opioids are simply a necessity.
The loss of income many afghan farmers will suffer from losing their most important cash crop will be significant. Add the fact that economically, Afghanistan is already a poor country. Obviously no more poppy farming will make people´s lives even worse.
Lack of opium poppies being grown just means more synthetic fentanyl being produced. It doesn’t do a thing to hinder drug use by those who need it/seek it out.
It’s also going to raise prices for opiate based pharmaceuticals like morphine and it’s also going to raise prices for opioid pharmaceuticals because it’s people in great pain that’ll have to endure the cost.
I never implied it would …
I was either adding on to your comment or meant to reply to someone else, don’t remember, but wasn’t debating.
Apologies, I was not entirely sure about your comment from the beginning.
It’s complicated. Afghanistan had made hydro projects with the West back in the day. Those pushed salt up the water table. Guess what plant is fine with that saltier soil?
Only when enemies of America do it. After all, won’t somebody think of big pharmas profits?
It’s alright, just hike the price of some drug no other company produces by 9001%. What’s the gubmint gonna do, regulate prices?
“jobs tho”
I’m sure they will be able to farm other things… like food.