Opium licensing is a policy instrument used to counter illegal drug cultivation and production. It has been used in countries such as

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to curb illegal

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

production. The main mechanism used under opium licensing is a shift from cultivation and/or production for the illegal market towards legal uses such as the production of essential medicines such as

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

and

codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically use ...

Proposal for Afghanistan

Currently, an international

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

called

The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) is an international think tank that focuses on Afghanistan and other conflict zones such as Iraq and Somalia. ICOS is a project of the Network of European Foundations' The Mercator Fu ...

, formerly known as The Senlis Council, is investigating whether this policy option could be used to solve the massive drug problem in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The organization is calling for a new village-based poppy for medicines system that would be able to boost rural development, create stability and increase the grip the

Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

Administration has on isolated poppy growing areas in the country. Equally, cheap Afghan-made could respond to the acute shortage of poppy-based medicines internationally. In June 2007, the Council released a technical blueprint for a poppy for medicine project in Afghanistan and called for a pilot project to create Afghan Morphine to be put in place at the next planting season (see The Senlis Council: "Poppy for Medicine

)

Counterarguments

The Bush Administration objected to ICOS's recommendations. In February 2007, the U.S. Department of State, through the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, issued a response to the ICOS's proposal. They argued that the price difference between licit and illicit poppies would discourage farmers from participating, a problem that could be overcome only by massive subsidies. The United Nations International Narcotics Control Board finds little to no unmet demand for licit Afghan poppies in international markets. While Turkey, India, Pakistan, and Bolivia have adopted similar plans, decades of conflict have left most of Afghanistan country radically underdeveloped, both economically and institutionally. Large portions of the country remain largely under the control of Taliban insurgents, and these conditions pose serious difficulties for a successful licensing program.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opium Licensing Economy of Afghanistan Illegal drug trade in Afghanistan