Article

2010-10-02 Afghanistan

Fungus hits Afghan poppy crop - 50% reduction no impact to Taliban finances?

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Posted by Besoeker 2010-10-02 04:41|| || Front Page|| [2 views ] Top

#1 Monsanto Clandestine Products Division?
If there's no impact on finances then they were underpricing their product before - which is quite possible. But higher prices should reduce demand, and smaller volumes could increase the effectiveness of inderdiction efforts - if they are manpower limited.

Posted by Glenmore 2010-10-02 07:40|| 2010-10-02 07:40|| Front Page Top

#2 Somebody using brains? Tis a crime against humanity, tis is!

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2010-10-02 07:41|| 2010-10-02 07:41|| Front Page Top

#3 Nice crop you have there. It would be terrible if something happened to it. /sarc off

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-10-02 08:08|| 2010-10-02 08:08|| Front Page Top

#4 I seem to recall that the Taliban have several years worth of harvested opium in storage. If so, this shouldn't impact the supply side for a while, even if production is down significantly. On the sales side, belief in reduced has driven up prices significantly, according to the article, so the Taliban will be able to stretch out drawing down their reserves for a good deal longer than planned.

Posted by trailing wife 2010-10-02 09:03|| 2010-10-02 09:03|| Front Page Top

#5 A reduced supply with a largely unchanged demand should lead to increased profits.

Posted by Gaz 2010-10-02 09:51|| 2010-10-02 09:51|| Front Page Top

#6 I could be wrong, but I doubt they have the wherewithall or sophistication required for crop storage and market manipulation. Afghanistan is pretty much a hand-to-mouth, agrarian society. Unless acting and supplied as a surrogate for external states, there is generally a direct correlation between the waring parties ability to raise funds and wage continuous war over extended periods. William Tecumseh Sherman understood this principle all too well. The key is not permitting them to take the winter months off and rest up.

Posted by Besoeker 2010-10-02 09:54|| 2010-10-02 09:54|| Front Page Top

#7 If they wanted a serious impact, they could capture some of the product and adulterate it, then allow it to be resold.

For example, add a durable formulation of Naloxone or similar drugs, which block the effects of opiates so effectively that it is used to treat overdose.

The druggies would get their drugs, but even though it looked, smelled and otherwise appeared to be the real thing, it wouldn't work. In fact taking it would put them into instant withdrawl, even blocking the drugs still in their system.

This would make a lot of addicts blue and sad. Also very pissed off at their suppliers.

And if the authorities could ensure that every single bit of that drug in a country was the corrupt kind, for just a week or two, they would simultaneously detox every one of their junkies.

Posted by Anonymoose 2010-10-02 10:27|| 2010-10-02 10:27|| Front Page Top

#8 Check out the comments on the article:
There is a rumor among some of the Afghan people that the fungus (Pleospora papveracea) was introduced by the US and UK. While developing such a bioweapon is prohibited, the strain may have been developed in Uzbekistan when it was part of the USSR. The intriguing details are in a 17 May 2010 article published in the guardian.co.uk and authored by Nushin Arbabzadah. The URL is http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/17/poppy-fungus-mystery-afghanistan.

My niece went through rehab for an opiate addiction--legal painkillers--but with the Rx's hard to come by, heroin is a cheap and plentiful alternative on the streets. One of her acquaintances died of an overdose recently and even young kids in jr. high and HS seem to be able to get it--$2. The articles I've read say the market is flooded with cheap Mexican heroin, and call for tougher border security, but where is this being grown and processed? Wih 90% of production blamed on the Talibunnies, I find it hard to believe that Mexico is solely responsible for the US problem and are most likely just a conduit for all manner of illegal drugs. Plenty of Teheran to Caracas flights, or the Tri-border area of SA, including Ecuador, eg but I guess I hope this really "goes viral". With billions at stake, the problem will just migrate to another failed state, probably closer to home. I like Anonymoose's suggestion of adulterating the supply, too, as reducing demand is key and we can't make ot legal.

Posted by Lumpy Elmoluck5091 2010-10-02 12:00|| 2010-10-02 12:00|| Front Page Top

#9 Of course you could just poison the supply.
That would cut down on the addict count.

Posted by Water Modem 2010-10-02 12:21|| 2010-10-02 12:21|| Front Page Top

#10 Wonder if poisoning the supply is illegal. Just covering all the bases, ya know.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2010-10-02 14:27|| 2010-10-02 14:27|| Front Page Top

#11 ..remembering the paraquat stink years back. It might not technically be illegal to 'poison' the plants, but you can bet once lawyers get involved it might be as expensive as having a Donk controlled government.

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-10-02 16:03|| 2010-10-02 16:03|| Front Page Top

#12 #11: ..remembering the paraquat stink years back. It might not technically be illegal to 'poison' the plants, but you can bet once lawyers get involved it might be as expensive as having a Donk controlled government. Posted by: Procopius2k|

That's why it's so necessary to have an open season on lawyers now and then - as TJ said, "A little rebellion now and then is a good thing". Killing a significant number of over-reaching lawyers would also thin the crop of Donks trying to rule, rather than govern - a twofer.

Posted by Old Patriot 2010-10-02 16:57|| 2010-10-02 16:57|| Front Page Top

#13 That will do. We aren't going after lawyers, nor doing anything to harm illegal drug users.

I doubt they have the wherewithall or sophistication required for crop storage and market manipulation.

Surely at the first stage it would just involve drying the plants, Besoeker, much like cooking herbs have been dried for millenia. They do that with marijuana and tobacco, as well, right?

Posted by trailing wife 2010-10-02 23:29|| 2010-10-02 23:29|| Front Page Top

#14 @ trailing wife...with all due respect, the opium poppy bulbs on the plant are notched (cut open) and milked for their 'syrup'.
The harvested liquid is filled into jars and drums for chemical processing and turned into refined opiates like morphine and heroin.
I've done it myself, in another younger riskier life.

Posted by Mike Hunt 2010-10-02 23:47|| 2010-10-02 23:47|| Front Page Top

#15 the opium poppy bulbs on the plant are notched (cut open) and milked for their 'syrup'.

Some questions, which may need an organic chemist to answer: Do the poppy bulbs have to be fresh to be milked, then? How long does it keep stored in drums? I assume that even with generators power would not be steady nor strong enough to maintain refrigerated warehouses... On the other hand, as I recall, the Taliban began doing some of their own refining a few years ago, as the mark-up on the refined product is much higher than for the raw material, and of course the refined product is more efficient to ship -- a useful characteristic for something that, ultimately, needs to be smuggled.

Posted by trailing wife 2010-10-02 23:58|| 2010-10-02 23:58|| Front Page Top

#16 And Mike, thank you for correcting my ignorance. I truly appreciate it, and my feelings will never be hurt by the opportunity to learn. :-)

Posted by trailing wife 2010-10-03 00:02|| 2010-10-03 00:02|| Front Page Top

00:02 trailing wife
23:58 trailing wife
23:47 Mike Hunt
23:29 trailing wife
23:22 Barbara Skolaut
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21:52 Angie Schultz
20:54 phil_b
20:16 SteveS
18:37 Whiskey Mike
17:54 Bangkok Billy
17:29 Frank G
17:16 Beavis
17:12 Thing From Snowy Mountain
16:57 Old Patriot
16:55 Water Modem
16:48 Frozen Al
16:10 Uncle Phester
16:03 Procopius2k
15:53 Skunky Elmomonter2920
14:58 Old Patriot
14:48 Abu Uluque
14:39 Frank G
14:27 Alaska Paul