On AlterNet: opium

Stories, blog posts, and videos tagged as "opium"

The 10 Most Seductive Drugs -- And Their Fascinating History

Jacqueline Detwiler, The Fix. February 9, 2012.

A brief journey through time, from ancient Sumeria to modern New Jersey, uncovers the mysterious origins of the world's most beloved substances.

488 Drug Offenders Executed in 2011: Amnesty International Intervenes in Iran's Quest to Kill Addicts

Phillip Smith, Drug War Chronicle. December 19, 2011.

Amnesty International has called on Iran to stop executing people for drug offenses, saying the Islamic Republic has embarked on "a killing spree of staggering proportions."

Afghanistan: The World's Number One Narco-State?

Alfred W. McCoy, TomDispatch.com. April 1, 2010.

The Obama administration is now trapped in an endless cycle of drugs and death in Afghanistan from which there is neither an easy end nor an obvious exit.

Drug Eradication in Afghanistan a Complete Failure: Top US Military Officer

Agence France PresseMay 21, 2009.

NATO has failed to stem the vast opium trade in Afghanistan that helps finance Taliban insurgents despite an eight-year effort.

The Taliban and Opium Industry Are Getting U.S. Billions -- Not So Much for the Rest of Afghanistan

Pratap Chatterjee, TomDispatch.com. March 23, 2009.

Parts of Afghanistan that have neither violent Taliban resistance nor much opium trade are virtually ignored by the U.S.

Good News From Iraq: Opium Agriculture Takes Off

Patrick Cockburn, Independent UK. January 18, 2008.

War-hawks say the "liberal media" don't report positive progress from the edges of Empire.

Marijuana Replaces Opium As the Top Crop in Afghanistan

Paddy, Brave New Films. November 5, 2007.

Paddy: Poor people need to live too. So they do the only things they can to make a buck.

Let Afghanistan Grow the World's Opium Supply

Ethan A. Nadelmann, AlterNet. August 31, 2007.

Given that farmers are going to produce opium -- somehow, somewhere -- so long as the global demand for heroin persists, maybe the world is better off, all things considered, with 90 percent of it coming from Afghanistan.