Topic: Opium and Opiates

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Painkiller addiction becoming more common in infants, study shows

Painkiller addiction is becoming more and more common in infants, according to a recently released study that shows that the number of US babies born with opiate drug withdrawal has tripled in the past decade.
US must focus on Afghanistan heroin trade

With so many Americans trying heroin each year, Congress and Obama must fund long-term efforts to curb poppy growing and the opium trade in Afghanistan, even after the US ends its combat role. This will also curb opium profits funding the Taliban.
Afghanistan still world's top opium supplier, despite 10 years of US-led war

Despite increased eradication efforts in Afghanistan, opium cultivation rose by 7 percent in 2011 as compared to last year, according to a new United Nations report. Production is up 61 percent.
River of Smoke

The Opium Wars bring new trials – and fresh adventures – to the cast of characters introduced in the rollicking "Sea of Poppies."
Burma(Myanmar) earthquake hits faded drug area

Burma(Myanmar) earthquake caused buildings to sway hundreds of miles away. The economic impact of the Burma(Myanmar) earthquake is limited as Golden Triangle opium production has declined.
Afghanistan poppy production could skyrocket due to spike in prices, drought

Afghanistan poppy farmers see 'cash bonanza' due to price spike, says United Nations, forewarning of increased planting of the opium-producing crop that pads insurgents' wallets.
Afghanistan opium crop blight sends drug prices soaring

The Afghanistan opium harvest dropped 48 percent this year, the United Nations announced. But analysts say the resulting higher prices could draw more farmers into the business.
Diggin' It
Self-sowing annual flowers

Some annual flowers do the work and seed themselves, creating a self-sown garden..
Afghanistan: Send less money for drug war, give us more control

On the eve of the Kabul Conference – the ninth major international Afghan donor conference – Afghanistan's Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal offers suggestions for how to cut down on the waste and fraud that is limiting the impact of billions in aid.
In Afghanistan, drug rehab for children

Children in Afghanistan are often fed opium to stop their crying, and many are born to addicts. A few clinics offer drug rehab for youths, but they are scarce and socially taboo.
Terrorism & Security
Afghanistan: Taliban bomb attack targets anti-opium drive

A bomb attack in southern Afghanistan killed at least 8 people today, according to reports. It appeared aimed at a Western antidrug program targeting the world's largest opium production by encouraging farmers to plant alternative crops.
Obama's surprise Afghanistan trip begins life after healthcare

President Obama took a secret trip to Afghanistan this weekend to impress upon Afghan President Hamid Karzai the need to cut corruption. It is his first trip to Afghanistan as president and shows how the passage of healthcare reform has freed his agenda.
Afghanistan war: NATO unfolds blueprint to rebuild Marjah

Western and Afghan officials have outlined ambitious plans for a new Marjah that include erecting new schools, reforming the police force, and upending the drug trade. Rebuilding Marjah and other towns is now seen as critical to NATO's Afghanistan war strategy.
Afghanistan war: Marjah offensive targets opium capital

The US offensive against the town of Marjah illustrates the link between the Taliban insurgency and the narcotics trade. The Taliban promote and tax the opium business and are allies with the drug lords who organize the distribution and export.
How US is tackling opium trade in Afghanistan poppy heartland

A key plank of the US strategy in Afghanistan is breaking up the opium trade in Helmand Province, as underscored by US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s visit to the region Monday.
Karzai's inauguration and Obama's demand for action on corruption

The Karzai inauguration came with promises to fight graft. The US must be patient as long as he delivers.
Obama's Afghanistan troop decision hinges on election crisis

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Sen. John Kerry said Sunday it would be wrong to send more troops before the US knows if it has a 'credible partner' in Afghanistan.
Global News Blog
Report: Big drop in Afghan opium production

But the Taliban, who use the drug trade to fund their insurgency, may have two years’ worth of opium stockpiled.
US applies Colombia antidrug lessons to Afghanistan

A new strategy in Afghanistan to combat the opium trade draws on US experience curbing cocaine shipments in Latin America.
Heroin's comeback: busts at levels not seen since the '70s.

Mexican dealers are flooding the market with a cheap form of heroin that is more potent than its predecessors, snaring younger users.
Kyrgyzstan weighs opium as industry

As an election nears, a presidential candidate promotes the idea that the opium trade could bring cash to the impoverished Central Asian republic.
Terrorism & Security
Two US troops die in base attack far from Helmand offensive

The Marines have experienced 'light resistance' as the try to regain control of a major opium growing region. The Taliban, however, are not giving up in other parts of Afghanistan.
Terrorism & Security
US Marines launch major new offensive in Afghanistan

About 4,000 soldiers are flooding into the southern Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province in the first test of new US strategy.
Terrorism & Security
US changes course on Afghan opium, says Holbrooke

New policy to spend more on alternate crops and less money on eradication follows years of criticism that US ignored economics of drug trade.
Fragile success against Afghanistan's opium economy

Poppy cultivation fell by about 20 percent, after two years of record harvests.