POT IS DRUG OF CHOICE IN AFGHANISTAN

THERE'S good news in Afghanistan's battle against the cultivation of
illegal drugs.

In June, the Afghan government declared that the northern province of
Balkh had stopped growing opium poppies.

Unfortunately, there is also bad news. Local farmers have replaced
their poppy crop with marijuana plants. Local authorities say
production is growing at an alarming rate.

"The government has banned he opium poppy," said Nazar Gul, 54, a
farmer in the Charbolak district of the province. "Now we have started
to plant marijuana, which is also good for us."

Gul said he had little choice but to make the switch.

"I planted poppy last year, but soldiers came to our house to warn us
that if we grew it, they'd destroy our homes," he said. "What could we
do?"

But he couldn't earn nearly enough to support his family by switching
to a legal alternative, such as wheat, he said.

"The best way out was to switch to marijuana, and I hope to make good
money this year, too," he said.

Gul offered this comparison between the two crops: "For us farmers,
poppy is gold and marijuana is silver."

The province is famed for its high-quality hashish - known as
"Balkhshirak."

Atta Mohammad Noor, the provincial governor, admits that
the cultivation of marijuana is on the rise in Balkh.

"People did not plant poppy this year, but it seems marijuana has
taken its place," he said.

As yet, there are no reliable estimates on the number of acres of
marijuana under cultivation. The governor is already complaining,
however, that he lacks the resources to combat what he sees as a
growing problem.

"Our counter-narcotics department has plans in hand for eradicating
marijuana in the province, but who is going to pay for it?" he said.

Noor is still upset at what he sees as the lack of support for his
poppy eradication effort.

"We cleared 128 square kilometers of opium poppy last year," he said.
"Every year, the international community announces that it is spending
millions of dollars on counter-narcotics, but we haven't seen a dime
of that money."

Meanwhile, marijuana plants can be seen sprouting up everywhere in the
province.

Mohammad Muhsan, another farmer in Charbolak district, explains that
the harvested marijuana is divided into two grades: high-quality
shirak and lower-quality khaka, or dust.

"Each pound of shirak is worth about $20, while a pound of khaka goes
for $10," he said. That's only about 20 percent of what he earned
while growing poppies.

Still, Muhsan said marijuana is the best alternative
available.

"Marijuana is a very good crop," he said. "We get five times more
money from it than from wheat."

Other farmers note that while they may earn less growing marijuana
than they did with poppies, it's also an easier crop to maintain.

"We used to have to spend half of what we made just to produce the
opium," said Ahmad Shah, another farmer in Chamtal district. "We had
to weed the fields and we also had to spend a lot on harvesting. With
marijuana, you just plant it, water it a little and then harvest it
like wheat. It does not take so much work or money."

A drug trafficker in the Charbolak district, who spoke on condition
that his name not be used, said smuggling hashish out of the area was
relatively easy.

"I purchase several sacks of hashish from farmers up here and then
send it to the south to sell to major traffickers," he said.

"Hashish is mostly smuggled to Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan, and from
these countries it is sent to Europe and other parts of the world."

He added, proudly, "Balkh shirak hashish is very famous around the
globe."

Of course, increased production has its down side as
well.

"The price of hashish seems to be falling day by day because
cultivation of marijuana has increased," the trafficker said.

Afghanistan's counter-narcotics ministry insists it will take as tough
a stand on hashish as it did on opium.

"We are committed to getting rid of all types of narcotics in
Afghanistan," said ministry spokesman Zalmay Afzali. "We are planning
on eradicating marijuana in the provinces."

Then again, the country's previous efforts to stamp out illegal drugs
have been spotty at best. For several years now, Afghanistan has been
the world's largest supplier of opium, with the past year's harvest
reaching a record high.