A Modest Proposal

British hospitals have a dire shortage of Diamorphine (Heroin). It's used for all sorts of useful things, mainly to do with liberating people from intense pain. Because of the slightly paranoid rules governing the manufacture of heroin in the UK, it has been left to two british companies to process the poppy straw imported from Tasmania for the purpose of opiate production.

Reliance on these two companies for all the NHS's diamorphine supplies was shown to be unwise, as both companies simultaneously suffered unrelated problems creating delays in supply. People are in pain because non-british diamorphine is not licenced for use in the UK, and unlike the continent where diamorphine can be sold in bulk at low prices, here it must be moved in small amounts and dosage costs are much higher.

The British Army is currently deployed in the world's most productive opium cultivation area. The poppies grown by the farmers in Afghanistan are converted into cash by the Taleban and the former Northern Alliance warlords to pursue their own military and political goals, undermining allied efforts to stabilise the country after the taleban were ousted.

Instead of vainly trying to protect the farmers and convince them to grow carrots or more preposterously, roses, the British Army should undertake to purchase the entire poppy crop at current market prices. Then a national pharmaceutical company can be created to take this crop and process it into high value opiate medications in afghanistan, employing thousands of afghans in the process.

Those in palliative care in this country get the drugs they need, the afghan warlords and the taleban have their pocket money taken away, and the afghan people benefit from hi-tech investment and employment.

Everyone's a winner.

And so are various other armies, Phan.

The British forces are particularly involved in the poppy growing regions though - the Americans seem to stick to the cannabis growing regions. No one else is there in sufficient force to pose any kind of an obstacle.

British hospitals have a dire shortage of Diamorphine (Heroin). It's used for all sorts of useful things, mainly to do with liberating people from intense pain. Because of the slightly paranoid rules governing the manufacture of heroin in the UK, it has been left to two british companies to process the poppy straw imported from Tasmania for the purpose of opiate production.

 

Reliance on these two companies for all the NHS's diamorphine supplies was shown to be unwise, as both companies simultaneously suffered unrelated problems creating delays in supply. People are in pain because non-british diamorphine is not licenced for use in the UK, and unlike the continent where diamorphine can be sold in bulk at low prices, here it must be moved in small amounts and dosage costs are much higher.

 

The British Army is currently deployed in the world's most productive opium cultivation area. The poppies grown by the farmers in Afghanistan are converted into cash by the Taleban and the former Northern Alliance warlords to pursue their own military and political goals, undermining allied efforts to stabilise the country after the taleban were ousted.

 

Instead of vainly trying to protect the farmers and convince them to grow carrots or more preposterously, roses, the British Army should undertake to purchase the entire poppy crop at current market prices. Then a national pharmaceutical company can be created to take this crop and process it into high value opiate medications in afghanistan, employing thousands of afghans in the process.

 

Those in palliative care in this country get the drugs they need, the afghan warlords and the taleban have their pocket money taken away, and the afghan people benefit from hi-tech investment and employment.

 

Everyone's a winner.

I think thats a cracking (no pun intended) idea.

It would solve a lot of problems but unfortunatly it will never happen.

Shame really but there you go:)

I have always wondered why the drugs siezed from traffickers is not used for this purpose. It would have to be tested obviously, but millions of £'s worth is destroyed and then the NHS goes elsewhere to buy.

It sounds very ideal as well, but is it a strong supply chain. Should the NHS be under the control of a curent unstable country?

I don't think it would be practical to use drugs seized from traffickers for medical purposes, the purity/quality of the substances can't be relied on, and having loads of people testing every bit of every batch, only to reject most of it due to contamination, would be too much effort and money for too little result.

But I think redirecting the heroin already produced at it's source is a good idea, it's going to get produced anyway, it seems better to me that it should go to hospitals to help people, rather than to dealers and addicts to cause problems. Afganistan is in a bit of a mess, some secure long-term employment can only do good, surely?

I have always wondered why the drugs siezed from traffickers is not used for this purpose. It would have to be tested obviously, but millions of £'s worth is destroyed and then the NHS goes elsewhere to buy.

The problem is that much of what is confiscated is of poor quality and adulterated with anything from stricnine to brick dust. It would cost more to purify than to buy it from a legitimate source.

It sounds very ideal as well, but is it a strong supply chain. Should the NHS be under the control of a curent unstable country?

I didn't suggest putting Hamed Karzai in charge of the NHS - he's yet another oil goon put in place as a puppet president & his fingers are well ensconced in the illicit opium trade.

The supply chain will be as strong as it needs to be. With British Forces acting as security for the whole operation, it will become progressively harder to disrupt as those who wish to do so will be denied their primary source of income.

It will win the battle for hearts and minds in Afghanistan - instead of pumping in millions of pounds of aid, which is taxed by the warlords, it will directly finance the poppy growers and their families, as well protecting them from the competition. They will be able to educate their children, who will then be able to get pharmacology degrees, business degrees and the like, and eventually take over the Afghan National Opiate Laboratory for the good of the people.

Afghanistans' #1 export has been opium, for as long as anyone can remember. It's foolish and deluded to expect to be able to change that - but to capitalise upon it for the benefit of everyone except the taleban & warlords seems to be a much more logical, achieveable and desireable course of action.

Is your avatar Daniel Craig in Layer cake?? if not, it should be with that kind of strategical mind.