Medical use of Afghanistan's poppy crop urged.

I've heard about this littlek and it's an intriguing idea. There's no getting around the fact that even with irrigation the Afghanis can't grow anything as lucrative as poppies. The trick I guess is to make sure the product doesn't go astray on its way to legitimate health agencies.

As a side note, some doctors have been threatened with loss of privilage for being 'over agressive' in the treatment of pain in the terminally ill. I use the ' ' because I don't think over agressive is possible in the circumstance.

Well, legitimate medical use probably doesn't pay as well. Opiates are among the least expensive prescripition medications.

Bingo!

Re: Medical use of Afghanistan's poppy crop urged.


Do really think drug companies would tolerate this?

Anybody seeing a trend here? Shortage of diamorphine. Opiates cheapest drugs on market. Shortage = higher prices perhaps? Dadpad's probably right -- the big pharmaceutical companies will never stand for flooding the market with cheap Afghani opiates.

God, but this is a cynical crowd. I think you're on to something, here.

Well....... at least there won't be a shortage for the painkillers anymore, then.

I think there are other crops which could work in afghanistan. Certainly not cotton or rice, maybe hemp, flax, bamboo....? I'm not really sure at all, but I think these can grow in low-water situations.

I did a little searching. Hemp needs way too much water as does flax and most species of bamboo. None are really good options for afghanistan.

I'm thinking afghanistan might be well suited to production of high quality wool. They've got the altitude and nasty winters conducive to sheep putting on a good coat.

Hemp! Yeah, I'm sure that'll have some appeal.

From the CIA World Fact Book

It's an arid to semi-arid climate.

Agriculture - products: opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins

Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones

Land use: arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 87.66% (2005)

Irrigated land: 27,200 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution

dont be too sure. Australia is the driest continent and we grow heaps of rice and cotton under irrigation.
Purely conjecture on my part but some big infrastruture projects such as dams for hydro and irrigation might work. Lots of high mountains and valleys to dam, no one would give stuff about the envirnmental degradation. Infrastructure projects generate high volumes of training needs and income (see the snowy hydro schemes).
Dams could supply irrigation water for cropping.

Just got to stop the Taliban from bombing the dams.

Perhaps not.

I think irrigation dams might be a future effort for Afghanistan, but I was thinking more of the near-future.