 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(November 2022) |
Opium replacement or opium substitution refers to the process of substituting opium poppy cash crops with non-narcotic alternatives.
The concept of opium replacement was first developed within an agricultural framework, most notably in Thailand. Agricultural engineers sought to identify crops that would generate more income than the opium poppy. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, rural development projects caused the terms opium replacement and opium substitution to be superseded by integrated rural development. In the 1990s, the term shifted to alternative development. This term and its minor variants are still used in Latin America (where crop-replacement approaches are used for coca). The United Nations refers to these crop replacement projects as sustainable alternative livelihoods; in Afghanistan, development agencies use the term sustainable livelihoods.
Opium has been grown in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Myanmar (formally Burma), Thailand, Laos, China, and Vietnam. It is also believed to be grown in the central post-Soviet states, including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Mexico (allegedly imported by immigrant Chinese opium users), and Colombia (reportedly as part of a collaboration between South-East Asian and Colombian drug traffickers). According to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report published in the mid-2000s, large amounts of opium are only cultivated in Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Colombia. Small to intermediate amounts were produced by Laos, Mexico, and Pakistan, while Thailand and Vietnam produced negligible amounts. Of these countries, opium replacement has been implemented in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Pakistan, Mexico, and Afghanistan.
In Colombia, much of the opium cultivation takes place under the protection of armed groups opposing the government, limiting the success of opium replacement attempts. Laos has experienced steep declines in cultivation, but former opium farmers are often left destitute due to the scarcity of legal, alternative crops. A similar situation had been observed in Pakistan, which is now experiencing an increase in cultivation due to over spill from Afghanistan. The opium replacement project in Afghanistan is slow, due to the large scale of cultivation, size of the country, poor security, destruction of infrastructure, and weakness of government institutions.
Myanmar has had some attempts at opium replacement: the United Nations has one project in the Wa State (in the north-east) and the Doi Tung project of Thailand also initiated some activities. The areas covered by such projects were too small to have a significant effect on national production. While opium production has been falling, it is attributed to Myanmar warlords new focus on methamphetamines rather than replacement projects.
Thailand is widely considered the most successful example of opium replacement policies. Although peak production in Thailand was relatively low (150–200 tonnes annually), Thailand's approach to opium replacement is considered the broadest attempt to replace opium cultivation with cultivation of legal crops. More than 150 crops have been introduced to farmers, especially to farmers from temperate climates (suitable to growing opium). The crops include: cabbage, lettuce, kidney beans, tea, coffee, peaches, apples, herbs, and decorative flowers. In general, these crops were cash crops of medium to high value. While many are not native to Thailand, they have been integrated into Thai cooking and culture. Two particularly successful opium replacement projects are still in operation: the Royal Project (established in 1969) and the Doi Tung Project (established in 1988). Both have eliminated opium cultivation from their project areas and have helped farmers improve living conditions. They are used as models and are studied by practitioners of opium replacement from other countries.
Despite the success of Thailand and, to a lesser extent, Pakistan and Vietnam, many people claim that opium replacement is ineffective, noting that Thailand is the only "real" success, but that its success is due to unique and non-replicable factors. Development activities may cause opium cultivators to simply relocate (in what is known as the balloon effect). Despite the presence of opium replacement projects, the world's supply of illicit drugs is continually rising, while prices are falling.
Opium replacement projects are typically implemented by national government agencies with the support of an international donor. A contractor implements the project in partnership with the national agency. At the moment,[ when? ] the largest providers of funding are the United States Agency for International Development and the European Union. Major contractors include the German Technical Cooperation Agency and several for-profit firms from the United States. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime helps coordinate different efforts, and also funds a few projects.
Opium replacement projects are no longer planned and executed over long time frames, as was the case with Thailand's Royal Project and the Doi Tung project. Rather, they take place over two or three years.
 |
There are three reasons why Opium Replacement was so successful in Doi Tung of Thailand.
One is that Alternative Development (AD) was preceded by violent intimidation of people living in North Thailand. (Ref: Race, Jeffrey, (1974), The War in Northern Thailand, Modern Asian Studies, Vol 8, No. 1, (1974), pg. 105, Published by Cambridge University Press, https://www.jstor.org/stable/311628 )
The second is that it was such a very small project that a well financed (from foreign countries) NGO could handle it. It has no universal application. In 1988 when the AD project started in Doi Tung the total area under illicit poppy cultivation in Thailand was only 2811 hectares (pg. 23 of UNODC's World Drug Report 1999). The same year 1740 hectares had been eradicated.
The third reason is that the AD project required eradication to succeed. Eradication still continues. 264 hectares of illicit poppy fields were eradicated in 2013 according to the World Drug Report of 2014.
Had Alternative Development or Opium Replacement been so successful in Thailand, why is eradication continuing or for that matter opium use, which according to Table I of UNODC's South East Asian Opium Survey is consumed by 96,284 people? The Alternative Development lobby has in its anxiety to push this concept has ignored all these hard facts, as also that all resolutions on Alternative Development recommend Alternative Development as a means to assist eradication. Thus AD is not all that peaceful either.
Opium is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The word meconium historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies.
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion in 2014 alone. With a world GDP of US$78 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally and it remains very difficult for local authorities to reduce the rates of drug consumption.
Coca eradication is a strategy promoted by the United States government starting in 1961 as part of its "War on Drugs" to eliminate the cultivation of coca, a plant whose leaves are not only traditionally used by indigenous cultures but also, in modern society, in the manufacture of cocaine. The strategy was adopted in place of running educational campaigns against drug usage. The prohibitionist strategy is being pursued in the coca-growing regions of Colombia, Peru, and formerly Bolivia, where it is highly controversial because of its environmental, health and socioeconomic impact. Furthermore, indigenous cultures living in the Altiplano, such as the Aymaras, use the coca leaf in many of their cultural traditions, notably for its medicinal qualities in alleviating the feeling of hunger, fatigue and headaches symptomatic of altitude sicknesses. The growers of coca are named Cocaleros and part of the coca production for traditional use is legal in Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
Plan Colombia was a United States foreign aid, military aid, and diplomatic initiative aimed at combating Colombian drug cartels and left-wing insurgent groups in Colombia. The plan was originally conceived in 1999 by the administrations of Colombian President Andrés Pastrana and U.S. President Bill Clinton, and signed into law in the United States in 2000.
The Golden Crescent is the name given to one of Asia's two principal areas of illicit opium production. Located at the crossroads of Central, South, and West Asia, this space covers the mountainous peripheries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, extending into eastern Iran.
The Golden Triangle is the name given to one of Asia's two principal areas of illicit opium production. Its geographical limits are the area in which the borders of China, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and the Mekong Rivers. The name "Golden Triangle" was coined by the CIA and is commonly used more broadly to refer to an area of approximately 950,000 square kilometres (367,000 sq mi) that overlaps the mountains of the four adjacent countries.
Afghanistan has long had a history of opium poppy cultivation and harvest. As of 2021, Afghanistan's harvest produces more than 90% of illicit heroin globally, and more than 95% of the European supply. More land is used for opium in Afghanistan than is used for coca cultivation in Latin America. The country has been the world's leading illicit drug producer since 2001. In 2007, 93% of the non-pharmaceutical-grade opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan. By 2019 Afghanistan still produced about 84% of the world market. This amounts to an export value of about US $4 billion, with a quarter being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug traffickers. In the seven years (1994–2000) prior to a Taliban opium ban, the Afghan farmers' share of gross income from opium was divided among 200,000 families. As of 2017, opium production provides about 400,000 jobs in Afghanistan, more than the Afghan National Security Forces. In addition to opium, Afghanistan is also the world's leading producer of hashish.
Alternative Livelihood Programs are the name given to government attempts, especially in South America to replace the illicit cultivation of banned substances, such as opium or coca, with alternative, legal crops or other activities as a source of income.
Opium licensing is a policy instrument used to counter illegal drug cultivation and production. It has been used in countries such as Turkey and India to curb illegal opium production. The main mechanism used under opium licensing is a shift from cultivation and/or production for the illegal market towards legal uses such as the production of essential medicines such as morphine and codeine.
Afghan morphine or "Poppy for Medicine" is an alternative development solution put forward to combat the poverty and public disenchantment caused by international counter-narcotics eradication policies in Afghanistan. Licensing opium poppy cultivation in order to locally manufacture and market Afghan morphine, according to this proposal, would create the economic conditions to empower poverty stricken rural Afghans and cut their ties with the illicit poppy trade.
A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances, particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemented by governments, entities at all levels may have specific policies related to drugs.
The illegal drug trade in China is influenced by factors such as history, location, size, population, and current economic conditions. China has one-sixth of the world's population and a large and expanding economy. China's large land mass, close proximity to the Golden Triangle, Golden Crescent, and numerous coastal cities with large and modern port facilities make it an attractive transit center for drug traffickers. Opium has played an important role in the country's history since before the First and Second Opium Wars in the mid-19th century.
This article deals with activities of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency related to transnational crime, including the illicit drug trade.
Crime in Afghanistan is present in various forms, and includes the following: corruption, contract killings or assassinations, bombings, kidnapping, drug trafficking, money laundering, black marketeering, and ordinary crimes such as theft and assault.
Mohammed Daud Daud, also known as General Daud Daud, an ethnic Tajik, was the police chief in northern Afghanistan and the commander of the 303 Pamir Corps. He was an opponent of the Afghan Taliban.
In Cambodia, drugs are readily available, thus, easy to access, including illegal substances.
The Mae Fah Luang Foundation (MFLF) is a private, non‐profit organization established to improve the quality of life of people in poverty and deprived of opportunities. It manages numerous projects in Thailand as well as other countries in Asia. The foundation's mission focuses on three main areas: “improving social and economic development, preserving the environment, and supporting local art and culture.”
Phongsaly province, also spelled Phôngsali, is a province of Laos in the extreme north of the country. The capital of the province is the city of Phôngsali. Phongsaly is between Yunnan (China), and Điện Biên province in Vietnam. Its culture has thus been historically heavily influenced by China.
Opium production in Myanmar has historically been a major contributor to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Myanmar is the world's second-largest producer of opium after Afghanistan, producing some 25% of the world's opium, and forms part of the Golden Triangle. The opium industry was a monopoly during colonial times and has since been illegally tolerated, encouraged and informally taxed by corrupt officials in the Tatmadaw, Myanmar Police Force and rebel fighters, primarily as the basis for heroin manufacture. While opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar had declined year-on-year since 2015, cultivation area increased by 33% totalling 40,100 hectares alongside an 88% increase in yield potential to 790 metric tonnes in 2022 according to latest data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Myanmar Opium Survey 2022 With that said, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has also warned that opium production in Myanmar may rise again if the economic crunch brought on by COVID-19 and the country's February 1 military coup persists, with significant public health and security consequences for much of Asia.
Drug smuggling is an issue that is gaining international attention, particularly in the Indian Ocean region. The Indian Ocean borders 24 states, and accounts for a third of the world’s ocean area. Previously, other challenges, such as Somali piracy, have been at the forefront of international action. However, the utilisation of the Southern route by drug traffickers, and the consequent issues this has caused, has led to increased focus on how to tackle this issue.