Geopolitics of Drugs: Afghan Poppies for Medicine
- Producing Organization
- WBEZ
- Contributing Organization
- WBEZ (Chicago, Illinois)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/50-80vq8cz0
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- Description
- Description
- Today, the European Parliament recommended by a vote of 368 to 49 that Afghanistan's poppy crop should be used to produce needed medicines like morphine instead of being eradicated. U.S. counter-narcotics strategy relies on destroying crops and persuading farmers not to plant the most profitable cash crop in the country. Increasingly, the Taliban insurgents have joined forces with some of the Pashtun drug traffickers in the south, protecting drug convoys for payoffs and carrying out joint operations. Meanwhile, interdiction efforts have only consolidated the drug industry, strengthening the hold of local warlords - now police chiefs and government officials - on the drug trade while crowding out small traders. Norine MacDonald is the Founder and Lead Field Researcher for the Senlis Council, a security and development think tank. Today's recommendation from the EU parliament was based on the Senlis Council's feasibility study for pilot projects to try using Afghan poppy for morphine production in Afghanistan put forward by The Senlis Council. This year, the Afghan poppy trade produced a record three BILLION dollar crop. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report showed a 35 percent increase in opium production on last year's numbers The US State Department's counter-narcotics report says the licensing scheme is: counterproductive and dangerous. DEA Spokesman Steve Robertson agrees that the poppies for medicine plane is not a realistic alternative. [DEA CLIP]
- Media type
- Sound
- Credits
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: WBEW
Editor: Rick Nitz
Producing Organization: WBEZ
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
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Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ-FM) and Vocalo.org
Identifier: (unknown)
Format: audio/mpeg
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Geopolitics of Drugs: Afghan Poppies for Medicine,” WBEZ, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed August 28, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-50-80vq8cz0.
- MLA: “Geopolitics of Drugs: Afghan Poppies for Medicine.” WBEZ, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. August 28, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-50-80vq8cz0>.
- APA: Geopolitics of Drugs: Afghan Poppies for Medicine. Boston, MA: WBEZ, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-50-80vq8cz0