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KANDAHAR GOVERNMENT: Farmers, Not Dealers, to be Number One Target in Afghan Drug War
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
(11:22 AM ET)
By Chris Brummitt
Associated Press Writer

A short drive east of Kandahar, farmer Shah Jahan said he would sow poppy seeds when he harvested his marijuana in 10 days. "I don't care whether it is illegal or not," he said, gesturing toward thousands of marijuana plants. "We are poor people. All of my family are depending on me."

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- AP
Afghanistan's weak legal system means that farmers, not rich and well-connected dealers, will be the main target in the country's war on drugs for the time being, authorities in one of the country's main poppy-growing regions said Wednesday.

Powerful players behind the trade in both marijuana and opium in the region would have their stock confiscated, but would not be arrested, said Khalid Pashtoon, government spokesman for the southern province of Kandahar.

"Down the road, the central government will prepare laws," he said. "Right now, we have to be a little cautious. We don't want to cause any trouble."

Afghanistan has been one of the world's largest opium producing nations
for years. But in 2001, the Taliban banned the cultivation of poppies, from which farmers extract opium, the raw material for heroin production. To the international community's surprise, production fell dramatically.
(More: New Jersey Online News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

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