Dec 10, 2007
OPIUM LICENSING: JUMPING FROM THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE

Dr. Najeeb ur Rahman Manalai
December 10, 2007

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OPIUM LICENSING* for medicine as proposed by the Senlis Council (SC), an international policy think tank, is not a solution to the problem of narcotics in Afghanistan. The SC has been able to convince the European Parliament to support their idea along with some pharmaceutical companies and other health organizations in the UK. However, the results and recommendations that the SC has produced do not seem either correct or pragmatic. Opium licensing in Afghanistan is an false solution that would increase the demand for drugs worldwide and it would add to the complexity of counter-narcotics efforts. Instead, a few basic changes in the current counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan, as part of a comprehensive approach for security and stability in the country, would address the issue of opium production. Read Full Article…