The only real solution to the drug problem is drug decriminalization and
a certain amount of regulation.
A majority of the problems we face with the drug problem is due to the
laws, not due to the drugs. Yes, some people will take drugs if they
are decriminalized, but they do so now anyway.
I can't see any real downside to it.
Dan
________________________________
From: Vigilius Haufniensis [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 2:21 PM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: CS>Thriving Afghan opium crop hampers development-IMF
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Thriving Afghan opium crop hampers development-IMF
Lesley Wroughton
Reuters North American News Service
Feb 20, 2008 13:50 EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A thriving Afghan opium crop earned
farmers about $1 billion in 2007 and together with a resurgence in
violence was hampering economic development, the International Monetary
Fund said Wednesday.
In an annual economic review of the Afghan economy, the IMF said
opium production in Afghanistan had spiraled to 8,200 tonnes in 2007
from 185 tonnes in 2001 and was by far the largest cash crop in the
country.
"The volatile security situation and the persistence of the drug
economy are weakening attempts at broadening economic development," the
IMF said.
"The drug economy, while being a source of livelihood for many
households, continues to be a major obstacle for Afghanistan to regain
its comparative advantage in traditional exports," it added.
It said Afghanistan's share of world opium supply increased to
about 93 percent in 2007 from 52 percent in 1995, making it the world's
largest opium producer despite efforts since the fall of the Taliban six
years ago to bring production under control.
Despite the presence of more than 50,000 foreign troops led by
NATO and the U.S. military, as well as some 140,000 Afghan troops,
militants have made a comeback in the past two years, and more than
11,000 people have been killed in violence.
As part of their campaign to drive out foreign troops and topple
Afghanistan's government, the al Qaeda-backed Taliban largely rely on
suicide raids and roadside bomb attacks.
The IMF said it was not qualified to comment on Afghanistan's
opium production, and cited figures from the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime that estimate the total value of the opium harvest in
Afghanistan was worth about $4 billion in 2007, compared with $2.7
billion in 2005.
"Given the size of the opium economy, clearly a good part of it
is injected through either consumption or higher savings in the
economy," Mohamad Elhage, IMF mission chief for Afghanistan, told a
conference call with reporters.
While opium production has flourished in the south and west of
the country, Elhage said a worsening security situation was having a
broader impact on the overall economy.
"We have seen a reduction to some extent in foreign direct
investment and implications on the budget because more spending will be
allocated to security either through the central government budget or
through the external budget, which is funded by donors," Elhage said.
"So clearly the security situation is not helping in terms of
achieving fiscal sustainability in the period ahead and also it is
having an impact on the investment climate," he added.
Still, Elhage praised the Afghan government for a strong
performance under a three-year IMF-supported economic program.
"Despite the weakening security situation, if we look at the
macro level the economy continues to perform well," he said.
Economic growth in Afghanistan is expected to exceed 13 percent
in fiscal 2007/08, rebounding from 6.1 percent in 2006/07 when the
economy was hit by a drought.
Elhage said revenue performance had doubled as a percentage of
gross domestic product and strengthened the fiscal situation, while
private banking was expanding.
"So progress at macro-level continues to be made, however,
clearly the security situation is going to have an impact," he said,
adding: "When you have a weakening security situation it will impact the
investment climate and willingness by investors to take more risk in the
country." (Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Source: Reuters North American News Service
<http://www.reuters.com/>
