THE TALIBAN-POPPY ALLIANCE CAN BE STOPPED

Afghanistan, one of the forgotten fronts in the global war against
terrorism, reported record-high production of opium poppies last
week, ushering in more problems for the embattled nation and causing
more conflict and prevention of a stabilized government.

To make matters worse, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
reported that Afghanistan produces 93 percent of all poppies used for
illicit purposes, called opium poppies. It is also known that the
money from the production of poppy funds all the necessary means for
the Taliban, making Afghanistan's profitable and most exported crop a
facet of global terrorism as discovered by NATO troops.

From such actions, the use of heroin and opium directly supports
terrorist acts and endangers the lives of American troops and their allies.

Some may remember the terribly produced $180 million-government
propaganda campaign, also known as Public Service Announcements, in
2002 that linked drug use to terrorism aimed at teens. Such a PSA now
is somewhat true to life in a situation like this. Except in reality
you won't die in an ironic fashion as the PSA suggests.

What Prohibition in the United States in the 1920s, and America's
absurd amount of incarcerated people related to marijuana charges
have shown us, is that it's nearly impossible to stop the use of a substance.

Stopping the global need for heroin would be grossly expensive,
taking more resources, money and possible lives from the necessity of
fighting terror. No matter how much money spent on ad-campaigns,
awareness and policing, the demand will still be there.

It's not to say that drug wars in general are pointless, but when
dealing with a product that is directly related to terrorism, a
reason must be made to stop the demand, whether it is from the
consumer or buyer.

What people don't realize is that many of those who cultivate the
poppy plant in Afghanistan are in poverty-stricken rural areas where
jobs are meager. They must turn to poppy cultivation as the only
means of making money. Such a job raises the ethical question, "Will
you steal a loaf of bread to feed your family?" Many people would
argue that the survival of a family might mean surviving at all
costs. In this case it's opium poppies.

With poppies being at least 10 times more profitable than a grain
such as wheat in Afghanistan, it seems like a natural choice. Nobody
would avoid cultivating a plant knowing there could be money made.
The farmers don't care how it's used as long as they get the money
for their labor. Any person in crushing poverty would make that decision.

A deep look into the people in dire need proves another reason to
help Afghanistan create a sustainable democracy.

However, the destruction of the crop only makes more enemies for the
United States and its allies. If farmers have an entire crop
destroyed and their only livelihood burnt to cinders, turning to the
Taliban to fight against the people responsible for the destruction
of crops is a likely decision.

Also, if 50 percent of the world's supply of poppies was destroyed in
Afghanistan, the price of the remaining cache of poppies would sky
rocket, giving even more profit to the terrorist-like group from the
difference. The price of poppies skyrocketed immediately after the
U.S. began fighting in Afghanistan, according to the Asia Times. The
beneficiaries would be the wrong people from the crop's destruction.

It comes down to Afghanistan finding something new or more profitable
than poppy production.

It may also require that the U.S.-backed government try something
that the U.S. would never do: legalize it.

The U.S. Department of State rightfully argues that the legal poppies
sell far less than illegal poppies. But if the means of producing
products other than raw poppies in the nation's boundaries were set
up, profitable drugs could be made.

The largest hurdle would be to set up a bureaucracy that isn't
corrupt to help establish the right businesses. The United States
could use money from its Afghanistan reconstruction or even from
money in Iraq, where goals are still not clear, for the preparations
to legalize the plant.

A short-term subsidy may also be required initially to offset the
price of illegal poppies, but when the market finds its pace, the
subsidy would not be needed.

The United States already knows a thing or two about how much profit
can be made from drugs. The profits can help the farmers, giving them
reason to shy away from the Taliban which would otherwise prey on the
impoverished farmers.

If the United States wants a democracy in Afghanistan, it must
realize that not all facets of American democracy can apply to
Afghanistan, because the differences in culture are vast.

So in this case, for democracy to flourish, legalization will be required.

-John P. Gamboa is a pre-journalism junior.