Senior MPs (Members of Parliament) of the UK’s opposition Conservative Party are reportedly calling for their leader, David Cameron, to get behind a move to get opium production legalised in Afghanistan, as he pays a surprise visit to the war-torn country.
According to The Guardian, opposition whip Tobias Ellwood would like the opium to be sold on the open market for opiate-based medicines, because:
* the opium eradication programs, highly unpopular with poor farmers, puts British soldiers in danger as farmers give their support to the Taliban;
* £600m was spent last year on eradication and opium exports were the biggest ever;
* it could divert some production away from the illegal market; and
* there is a worldwide shortage of opiate based-medicines.
Even though cracks have appeared in the determination of the West to eradicate poppy production - the head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson has said the time is not right to eradicate opium poppies and Lieutenant General David Richards, head of Nato’s international security force in Afghanistan, has said it is not a priority right now - I doubt anything concrete will come from the political end any time soon, whether foreign or local; all this despite, or probably because of, the huge amount of money and publicity that has been thrown at the effort.
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