1. Licensing Afghan Opium for Medicinal Use: Why It Won't Work
- Author:
- David Mansfield and William A. Byrd
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- With large increases in Afghan opium cultivation and production in 2013 and 2014, there is a risk that resulting frustration may give rise to a search for extreme but unproductive solutions. There are no easy solutions to the illegal narcotics problem. The proposal that Afghanistan could shift to licensed production of opium for pain medications will not work. Due to severe problems with governance, rule of law and security, opium licensing in Afghanistan would be subject to extremely high leakages. Afghanistan's comparative advantage in supplying the illicit market means that it would likely expand cultivation to meet demand in both markets. Afghanistan is a high-cost producer of opium, and prices for licensed opium are much lower than on the illegal market, so profits might well be marginal or even negative. Existing producers of licensed opiates— Australia, Turkey, India, France and others—would strongly oppose any move to let Afghanistan become a competitor on the licensed market. Even if a more liberalized market for opiates is envisioned, technological advances and modern techniques in other countries mean that Afghanistan could not be a competitive producer.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Turkey, India, France, and Australia