# afghan opium

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afghan-opium/123620>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 13, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afghan-opium/123620 "2002-08-13T00:57:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![zoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71c47a/32.png) [@zoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoo)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afghan-opium/123620/1 "2002-08-13T00:57:10Z")

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who has control of the opium in afghanistan?

if the united states forces are now crawling all over afghanistan, our commanders must know where all of the poppy fields are. to my knowledge the heroin supply is not going down, so whats up?

I have not seen anything on the t.v. about this, do any of you have the dope???

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**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afghan-opium/123620/2 "2002-08-13T01:18:33Z")

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I think it was all anti-drug propaganda.

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**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afghan-opium/123620/3 "2002-08-13T01:37:18Z")

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I hope you brought enough for the entire class.

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**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afghan-opium/123620/4 "2002-08-13T01:38:53Z")

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There were a lot of threads posted about this topic post September 11 - particularly in relation to how the destruction of opium growing as a primary industry would impact financially on Afghanistan.

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afghan-opium/123620/5 "2002-08-13T04:47:42Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by zoo \*  
> **who has control of the opium in afghanistan?**

The people who live there. They’re called “Afghans”.

> [@](#):
>
> \*\*if the united states forces are now crawling all over afghanistan, our commanders must know where all of the poppy fields are. \*\*

Yes, everybody in the whole wide world knows [where the poppy fields are](http://www.undcp.org/newsletter_2000-11-01_1_page006.html)–satellites take pictures of the poppy fields all the time.

> [@](#):
>
> **to my knowledge the heroin supply is not going down, so whats up?**

The people who live in Afghanistan have apparently made the collective decision to allow the opium trade to continue, since the money’s good and they’re strapped for cash. There is, however, a dissenting minority, who are trying to get the agricultural economy switched over from “drugs” to “food”. Since the dissenting minority happens to be in power in Kabul, for what it’s worth, [they are working on it.](http://www.reporter-news.com/1998/2002/terror/int0515.html)