Oh those poppy's those sweet sweet poppy's...

[Javaman]

Afghans swap poppies for wheat as food costs soar

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/13/afghanistan

but wait a second, is this right? because...

Afghan poppy farmers expect record opium crop and the Taliban will reap the rewards

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/afghan-poppy-farmers-expect-record-opium-crop-and-the-taliban-will-reap-the-rewards-477687.html

but alas, that story is two years old and well, things change...

Afghanistan Poppy Farmers: We May Have No Choice but to Join Taliban

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/162906/afghanistan_poppy_farmers_we_may_have.html

Or could it be...

AFGHANISTAN: Farmers Fight Ban on Poppy Growing

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33004

Or perhaps...

Freak weather destroys Afghan poppies

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/freak-weather-destroys-afghan-poppies-814072.html

but when in trouble, one has to adapt...

Afghan Farmers Turn to Cannabis as Cash Crop

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19336834

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally against the spread of heroin, but I really don't care for this propaganda news story's the report that "things are changing" for the better bullshit.

the nation is still very very very poor, it's still totally fucked up and these poor people that grow poppy are doing it because they have mouths to feed.

Way back in 2002 moron* and his room full of dopes tried to convince the locals to grow wheat instead of poppy. However, if a farmer sees that a bushel of wheat only brings in 50 bucks and a bushel of poppy brings in 500 bucks, which will he choose? It doesn't take a genius.

so now that the world is on the starving end of the stick, wheat now is at a premium. The farmers are now changing over to grains according to this article?

I bet you when comparing the price per ounce, poppy is still the better bet and brings in more money to feed starving kids.

[Warpy]

1. POPPIES

and now I'll take off the pedant's hat and remark that the whole basis for a cash crop is that it can be exchanged for more food than otherwise poor land could possibly produce.

Poppies are one of the planet's great gifts to us. Used properly, they ease the pain of life. For most of human history, poppies have been used safely to help us survive injuries and illness.

Too much of anything will kill us and poppies need to be used carefully. The drug war itself contributes to the improper use of them by driving up the black market cost of them and encouraging the manufacture, transport and sale of refined products like heroin.

However, I'm in complete sympathy with the Afghan poppy farmer.

[Webster Green]

3. Thanks for this post.

Poppies are one of the planet's great gifts to us. Leave it to humans to totally fuck things up.

IMO, nobody has a right to declare other living things to be illegal, be they animal or vegetable.

Afghani cannabis is also legendary for it's quality. Most of the high-powered varieties popular today originated in California when hippie growers crossed dense, sticky Afghani Indica plants with super potent Thai and Pakistani Sativa types, resulting in some really wicked pot. Further selective breeding has given us a wonderful selection of goodies to choose from.

:hippie:

[bobbolink]

2. Les Miserables, all over again. When pushed to the wall, when desperate,

people resort to desperate measures.

They violate their own boundaries of morals.

It's happening in the great ole' US of A, too.

:cry:

But, we've come to accept it, so it continues.