Opium production in Afghanistan

doi:10.1136/bmj.39554.402199.BE

BMJ 2008;336:972 (3 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.39554.402199.BE

Editorials

Opium production in Afghanistan

Legalising production for medical usage is neither feasiblenor desirable

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The case for allowing Afghanistan to cultivate poppies to combatthe alleged shortage of opiate medicines has been reported inthe BMJ.¹ Around 90% of the world’s opium comes from Afghanistan,and most of it is destined for the illicit market. Counter narcoticsis at the heart of the United Kingdom’s involvement inAfghanistan, not just because it is a major source of financefor the Taliban, but also because of its impact on our streetsand neighbourhoods. The UK has repeatedly considered legal poppycultivation—the first time in a report by David Mansfieldthat was commissioned in 2001.² The findings of the Mansfieldreport remain true today; unless the Afghan government can controlthe size of the crop, legal opium will supplement and not substituteillegal opium production.

The Afghan government lacks the necessary resources, institutionalcapacity, and control mechanisms to guarantee that opium isonly purchased legally. . . . [Full text of this article]

Mark Malloch-Brown, minister of state for Africa, Asia, and the UN

¹ Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London SW1A 2AH

Stelios.Kyriakides@fco.gov.uk

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This article has been cited by other articles:

Finlay, I. G, Mancroft, L., Field, F. (2008). Let's re-examine buying the Afghan poppies that are left. BMJ 336: 1325-1325 [Full text]
Spedding, S. J (2008). Is the US or the Taliban responsible?. BMJ 336: 1088-1088 [Full text]
Aston, D. C (2008). Editorial gives misleading impression. BMJ 336: 1088-1088 [Full text]

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