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Ending Afghanistan's opium economy
December 6, 2006. Afghanistan is on the verge of becoming a narco-state. The Western military counternarcotics strategy is not only ineffective but even counterproductive. This strategy should therefore be replaced with a serious alternative that Peter van Ham and Jorrit Kamminga call "poppies for peace". Poppy crops can be used to produce medicines such as morphine and codeine, which are high-demand painkillers in a growing global market.
The authors call upon the international community to assist the Afghan government in starting a scientific pilot project to investigate further the practical implementation of a licensing system for Afghanistan. They acknowledge that this is not a silver bullet for Afghanistan’s many troubles, but it does pave the way for the country to escape its current development and security crisis.
Related Publications
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- Poppies for peace: Reforming Afghanistan's opium industry, Peter van Ham and Jorrit Kamminga - Article - The Washington Quarterly, 30(1), pp. 69-81, Winter 2006-2007 -
PDF (196 Kb) - en
- How to beat the opium economy, Jorrit Kamminga and Peter van Ham -
- nl
- Pijnstillers uit Afghanistan, Peter van Ham en Jorrit Kamminga -