This idea is more about solving the problems in Afghanistan, not directly solving the problem of drug abuse in the UK.

Well it didn't make it worse though, did it?

No but Heroin use is why we have people making loads of money out of poppy production.

Only they aren't, because there is very little money to be made from growing it. The real money is made by the people who transport it and sell it on.

msr

I think the estimate is that for every £ spent on drug treatment we save £8 on criminal justice.

That was the problem. Shooting hundreds is no good. You have to kill all of them for it to work.


It will solve the problem that there would be no market for their opium, hence no funding.

I agree the farmers must be paid very little but more than what they'd get for other crops I imagine. the poppy does of course grow well there.

Exactly, so let's start thinking intelligently about this

msr

Permission to speak freely, Boss? To be honest, I could'nt give a fcuk if every Afghan man, woman and child dropped dead. Our priorities MUST be to protect British soldiers and civlilians.

If offering the Afghan poppy farmers a viable alternative to selling heroin and co-operating with Terry saves British soldiers and/or reduces drug related crime in the UK, then I'm all for it. If using the tactics of Alexander the Great - basically, slaughter every Afghan man, woman, child or goat who even looks the wrong way at your soldiers - was a viable option, I would not hesitate to advocate that too.

How much money (A) did the Afghan Government extort from us last year? Yes, I know what word I used, and that describes it best.

Now, how much money (B) would it take to buy as much of the harvest as we could?

How does A compare with B?

Here is the mission according to Miliband: “This is a mission that’s been developed with a very clear strategy: above all, to make us safer here because we know these areas of Afghanistan and its neighbour Pakistan are used to launch terrorism around the world. So the mission for us is clear.”

msr

Yeah but Miliband is a fcuking idiot.

Is that this week's mission? Because the last PROMARK mission statement I saw in very recent times didn't say that.

... and the one I saw 4 weeks ago didn't say that either, and the mission as defined then, had the cube root of SFA to do with "launching terrorism around the world"

When are people going to get it? We have people in some of the most geo-politically important posts in the world today, who are simply not qualified to be there.

Let's recall what was written almost 7 years ago

www.usatoday.com/news/...satcov.htm


But


It is a bit strange for Taliban to ban opium cultivation while the drug network is its main source of money.


It's logical. Taliabn needs money to wage the war.


Yes, reportedly there are huge reserves of opium and heroin in Afghanistan.


As we know it hasn't happened and likely would not happen soon. But there is a realistic way to stop opium flaw from Afghanistan eventually - to restore Taliban at power. Why not?

Beat me to it.

Today's

www.timesonline.co.uk/...698010.ece

Help the farmers and villages of Afghanistan, by injecting cash in to the area.

There must be plenty of possibilites for improving the area. Let the locals know that if they support/or have dealings with the taliban we'll pull the funding quicker than a quick thing.

To fund it we'll cut the aid we give to India and Africa (India have a space and nuclear programe so why do they need cash? Africa has had long enough to get their sh1t in a sock).

Buy ALL the stock (of poppies) from the farmers at (at least) price and half if not double. We'll need troops on the ground to kep the area safe.

Even if we just tip the sh1t in the sea, it will be better than letting the stuff reach UK.

The crop is used to produce medicinal type stuff. and treatment of smack heads.

Methadone isn't the be all of anti-drugs treatment. It isn't that cheap, nor is it without risks. Some nice clean horse is all they need.

Last edited by chocolate_frog on Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:28 am; edited 1 time in total

You know something MSR, I'm not even wry smiling at that, as it's way too close to the truth.

MSR - a great subject for debate and action. One that should be kept alive.
To be its the sort of plan that a government with balls would instigate. So no chance for a while then.

To me the plan should not be affected too much by what scrotes on the street think/act/behave. This is bigger than that. Over a decade it would bring positive results but would need real conviction.

I for one think, with the limited info I have seen, that it would work. I know a fair bit about the hard drug trade. I even have an adopted brother who sadly got himself on the junk for a while as many orphans do. I've lived in areas with huge hard drug problems. I've even tried to disrupt tha actions of local hard drug dealers. Am not naive about the subject.

I think this has been discussed very open-mindely before and I remember hearing that it would require about £60 million to buy Afghanistan's entire output and that is at street prices so it could be done for far less. Substantially less than our war spending as we then have an asset to sell at profit or at least at cost.

It will be unpopular of course as people while whine on about drug addicts and the state being the biggest drug baron etc etc - but there is a genuine medical need for it and I think controlling the production would work in the long run.

The same could not be done with cocaine though I don't think as its medicinal effects are limited.

Well done MSR for bringing this up again. Bravo.

How about investing in a genetically mutated virus that destroys all poppies and the coca plant, then sit back and watch as parts of the Middle East, Far East and half of South America collapses. What could possibly go wrong...