POPPY GROWERS SEE RED OVER TALK OF EMBARGO

Tasmanian poppy farmers Phillip and Damien Jones are facing a threat
to their livelihood from an unusual source - the United Nations.

On the Jones' 22-hectare farm at Broadmarsh, 40 kilometres north of
Hobart, the first poppy crop of the season is ready for harvest.

But the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board, which
regulates the poppy industry, is threatening to embargo Tasmania's
industry because of Australia's proposed heroin trials.

This is an alarming prospect for the 1400 Tasmanian farmers contracted
to grow poppies for two international pharmaceutical companies.

In return for the poppies' alkaloid, which is used to produce codeine
and morphine, up to $175million is pumped into the state's economy.
Another 450 people are employed during harvesting and processing.

Phillip Jones's crop, which he runs with his son Damien, 25, will
return about $3000 a hectare when harvested.

"Our main concern on a daily basis is how to survive financially and
the last thing we need is this heroin scare," Mr Jones said.

The UN board argues that heroin trials contravene the 1961 Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

The president of the Poppy Growers Association, Mr Wayne Smith, is
reluctant to enter the heroin trial debate, a moral and ethical issue
out of his expertise. But poppies are "the lifeblood of the rural community."

"It has taken us more than 30 years to establish this industry in
Tasmania; a lot of it has been extremely hard work with a lot of trial
and error, and even more heartache," Mr Smith said.

Tasmanian poppy growers are anxious to maintain their good standing in
the eyes of the international industry. Indeed, passersby stopping for
tourist photographs will often have their registration numbers passed
on to police.