Sohrab Rahmaty makes a strong case for changing the strategy to control illicit opium production in Afghanistan:
….In the 1970s, Turkey was a major source of illicit opium for the drug trade. In just four years, and with the help of an American-led initiative, Turkey was able to transform its illegal opium trade into a viable and profitable legal industry. The Turkish government instituted a program that offered to license farmers’ crops for medical purposes, resulting in Turkey becoming a leader in the opiates-based medical field. There is no reason why Afghanistan should not pursue a similar path….
The cost of establishing a legitimate industry would be a fraction of the cost of “containment” of the illicit industry and would also strengthen central government control over outlying regions.
Read more at A Solution for Afghanistan’s Opium Crisis? | The Diplomat.
The National Center for Health Statistics has some staggering figures out today about drug overdose deaths. From 1999 to 2012, the overall drug overdose death rate more than doubled, and when it came to opioid painkillers and heroin specifically, overdose death rates tripled. But in 2012, the opioid overdose death rate decreased for the first time in over a decade, while the overdose death rate related to heroin increased by 35 percent. A coincidence? Nope, drug abuse experts have noticed that abusers often switch from painkillers to heroin because it’s cheaper and easier to access.