Comments on: Afghanistan and Poppy cultivation

By: justgrrl

justgrrl — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:52:03 +0000

Dude, it’s ‘papaver’, not ‘palaver’! ‘somniferum’ is right, of course!

although, at a second thought, your formulation:

“palaver somniferum, for the very good reason that the opium is essential for the NHS”

makes quite a lot of sense… better say… quite a lot of… palaver.

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By: angela

angela — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:23:33 +0000

Gordon Brown was a total disgrace in PMQs today. Cameron raised the question of helicopters for our men in Afghanitan and Gordon accused him of playing party politics.

The PM’s fake concern and pretence of taking the moral high ground were absolutely nauseating.

David Cameron has spoken up for better treatment for our army since he became Party Leader. How dare Gordon Brown level that accusation when he has shamefully failed to care for our troops. I seem to recalled that Brown disgustingly levelled the same accusation at Mr. Cameron when Cameron asked for a proper inquiry into the death of Baby Peter and never was an action more justified than that.

Gordon Brown reduces politics to the level of the gutter. He should be ashamed.

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By: A concerned parent

A concerned parent — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:06:49 +0000

So who get to drink the poppy? The farmers or the poor kids? If it’s the farmers then they are so unbelievably selfish and ignorant people. They just want to sleep all day until the cows come home to avoid working and listening to their kids crying?

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By: A concerned parent

A concerned parent — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:58:33 +0000

So who get to drink the poppy? The farmers or their poor kids?
If it’s the farmers then they are so unbelievably selfish. They just want to drink the poppy to sleep all day until the cows come home to avoid working and listening to their kids crying?

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By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:15:17 +0000

Noiseur

Boris’s points have raised some controversial thinking here!

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By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:13:19 +0000

Tiresias

>Obviously the solution is for all countries to legalise all recreational drugs

I am coming round to that view having been militantly against any legalisation.

Boris has been laissez-faire on this issue and it may not be such a mad idea after all.

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By: Alex Aiken

Alex Aiken — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:37:48 +0000

Yes – this is a brave a sensible argument for Boris to make. Buying up the poppy crops from impoverished Afghan farmers is a win-win-win strategy because:

It undermines the main source of revenue for the Taliban -win

It stops putting the military forces at odds with the Afghan farmers who are desparate to grow any crops that can make a living – win

It provides a source for raw materials for producing one of the most useful drugs in medicine – morphine (of which there is a huge worldwide shortage) – win.

Yes, there are lots of difficulties with this, but lots of stranger things are subsidised by the European Union – fleets of fishing boats to catch virtually extinct fish for example. Governments should bite the bullet and turn the no-to-poppy-crops policy on it’s head.

Good on you Boris for standing up and saying it.

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By: angela

angela — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:19:07 +0000

Very interesting post from hammeruk14, I am learning a lot from you.

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By: Noiseur

Noiseur — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:17:11 +0000

Ah, red poppies – Wind flowers. These delicate red flowers always remind me of war, fallen soldiers, loss and sadness… ” There’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England…”

If you can’t sleep at night, folks, just break a young poppy flower stem[Ed: held back]…… Drink it and it will help you sleep.

This is how poor farmers in that part of the world cope with crying kids whom they have to look after while they are working in their field. Correctly they use Papaver opium ( papaver somniferum ). But any varieties of poppy can do the same trick. Enjoy!

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By: hammeruk14

hammeruk14 — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:54:10 +0000

Well I raised this issue at Department of Health conference about Misuse of drugs for recreational purposes in the immigrant communities. I specifically pin pointed the Afghan problem which is where the worlds best heroin comes from. There is no doubt during the Cold War this was used to generate money, since then many warlords and the Taliban have been funding their arms and high tech equipment on the sale of Heroin. Nothing has been done to eradicate this problem which has affected its neighbouring countries in particular Pakistan and Iran; and also Europe ; UK being on of the major countries to be affected with Heroin misuse.

The real problem isnt the poppies or the heroin or the Taliban. The major problem is the poverty of the farmers who do not have a large income or live on the absolute poverty line. There is little scope to help them grow economically on other produce and unfortuntely growing Poppies pays much better. The problem that lies in Afghanistan as highlighted by a Afghan Female MP is to create opportunities of Jobs and develop an economy which is not reliant on Heroin.

This is the challenge the world faces. To say that this is the thing causing death to British Soldiers is good but you must not ignore all the facts.

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