Since US war, Afghans back in opium biz

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Poppies, from the milky sap of which opium and heroin are derived, represent a lifeline for Afghan families and day laborers around this border crossing with Pakistan.

As in other parts of the country, farmers here plow their earnings from poppy cultivation into rebuilding their homes, buying livestock, and re-establishing communities devastated by war. Many growers say they see no real substitute crop for poppy, which they regard as the only sure way to feed, clothe and shelter their families.

For us poppy is good, for the West it may not be, says Gul, an Afghan farmer who declines to use his full name. Afghanistan's production generates $100-200 billion per year, about one-third of the worldwide annual proceeds from trade in narcotics, estimated by the United Nations at around $500 billion.

Even so, only a portion of Afghanistan's production makes it to market as huge surpluses are being built up. ''Enough opium stocks are available here. I could not sell last year's stock,'' says one Afghan drug dealer. He declined to provide further details.

http://www.nni-news.com/current/world/news-21.htm