Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Poppies show up UNODC head Link "History teaches us that it will take a generation to render Afghanistan opium-free," UNODC executive director Antonio Maria Costa said in a statement. Um, no. History teaches us that people who use the word "free" to describe some imagined future absence of drugs are morons. Of course, Costa is using this to cover for the fact that his approach to international drug control is a ludicrous failure. His solution? "I ... propose that development support to farmers, the arrest of corrupt officials and eradication measures be concentrated in half a dozen provinces with low cultivation in 2006 so as to free them from the scourge of opium." There's that word "free" again. But do you see what he's saying? That the "arrest of corrupt officials" should be concentrated in just a few areas? That's a plan? The U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime is pathetic. They should all take six months off and be required to do an internship at the Senlis Council, where they might learn something useful. For a variety of reasons, poppies will always bloom in Afghanistan. There is no poppy-free Afghanistan in our future. The best and only truly workable solutions will include finding ways to coexist with this plant. 7:45:47 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []