Dan Nave wrote:
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.
The Federal Government is not going to decriminalize it, it is the main
source of income for their black projects.
Marshall
Dan
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*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
http://www.precisenews.us/news.html?articleId=13167381&buyerId=preciseNews&channelId=914&title=Thriving%20Afghan%20opium%20crop%20hampers%20development-IMF&tags=thriving%20afghan%20opium%20crop%20development
<http://www.precisenews.us/news.html?articleId=13167381&buyerId=preciseNews&channelId=914&title=Thriving%20Afghan%20opium%20crop%20hampers%20development-IMF&tags=thriving%20afghan%20opium%20crop%20development>
*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/>
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