Subsidized poppies in Afghanistan, paid for by US!

[ABikerSailor]

It seems now, in spite of all the talk about how much good it would do if we would only legalize cannabis, Obama wants to go over to Afghanistan and pay them to not grow poppies.

Same thing as with our current subsidies that we pay American farmers. They are paid not to grow crops.

Now.......let's look at this logically okay? If cannabis were legal, then people would quit doing the things that are illegal in favor of the ones that are legal (at least most).

Then? Legalize marijuana and collect the taxes off of that and use that as a way to help pay for the subsidies that we are going to hand Afghanis. Shit.......pay them to grow cannabis instead of opium, and then give them a market to sell their product to! Opens up free trade, which fosters democracy, which in turn makes them feel better about us, and that would result in a peaceful place. The Taliban would then be neutralized, as people would be doing much better without them, and thus resulting in a win of the war on terrorism.

Nice eh?

 

[Big Black Dog]

Biker Squid, what have you been smoking today?

 

[johnrocks]

I seriously think marijuana and all drugs need to be legalized, why we spend billions on the insane war on <some> drugs boggles my mind and our insane foreign policy subsidizes a lot of things directly or indirectly from this shit to socialized medicine.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Biker Squid, what have you been smoking today?

Nothing that God and Jesus wouldn't approve of Chief!

Ever heard of "Mr. Natural"? I think that's a comic book about God.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Nothing that God and Jesus wouldn't approve of Chief!

Ever heard of "Mr. Natural"? I think that's a comic book about God.

You're always good for a chuckle or two. Hope all is well in your world. I highly recommend Marlboro 100's - cowboy killers. I tried pot a good many years ago. Thought it was highly over rated and not worth the hastle.

Never heard of "Mr. Natural" before. I'm not so much into comic books.

 

[WillowTree]

obamalama is gonna build nuclear plants in India too.. and tax your asses off the planet for burinng coal,, go figure,, what an asshole! and you damn fools voted for hymn.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

It seems now, in spite of all the talk about how much good it would do if we would only legalize cannabis, Obama wants to go over to Afghanistan and pay them to not grow poppies.

Same thing as with our current subsidies that we pay American farmers. They are paid not to grow crops.

Now.......let's look at this logically okay? If cannabis were legal, then people would quit doing the things that are illegal in favor of the ones that are legal (at least most).

Then? Legalize marijuana and collect the taxes off of that and use that as a way to help pay for the subsidies that we are going to hand Afghanis. Shit.......pay them to grow cannabis instead of opium, and then give them a market to sell their product to! Opens up free trade, which fosters democracy, which in turn makes them feel better about us, and that would result in a peaceful place. The Taliban would then be neutralized, as people would be doing much better without them, and thus resulting in a win of the war on terrorism.

Nice eh?

How would you tax marijuanna. If it was legal everybody and their momma would be growing it in their backyards.

 

[johnrocks]

Why tax but it could be done the same way as the simple tomato plant, they are easier to grow than marijuana yet most buy their tomatoes from the produce section of a grocery store and that's taxed but for the ones like me who love fresh tomatoes, I buy the plants and they are taxed, so is the fertilizer.

 

[Harry Dresden]

It seems now, in spite of all the talk about how much good it would do if we would only legalize cannabis, Obama wants to go over to Afghanistan and pay them to not grow poppies.

Same thing as with our current subsidies that we pay American farmers. They are paid not to grow crops.

Now.......let's look at this logically okay? If cannabis were legal, then people would quit doing the things that are illegal in favor of the ones that are legal (at least most).

Then? Legalize marijuana and collect the taxes off of that and use that as a way to help pay for the subsidies that we are going to hand Afghanis. Shit.......pay them to grow cannabis instead of opium, and then give them a market to sell their product to! Opens up free trade, which fosters democracy, which in turn makes them feel better about us, and that would result in a peaceful place. The Taliban would then be neutralized, as people would be doing much better without them, and thus resulting in a win of the war on terrorism.

Nice eh?

ill take an ounce....Afghan Express....

 

[Oddball]

Way more money in smuggling opium.

Also, most of America's pot crop is domestic anyways.....Nobody wants that moldy-assed Mexican brick crap anymore.

 

[ABikerSailor]

It seems now, in spite of all the talk about how much good it would do if we would only legalize cannabis, Obama wants to go over to Afghanistan and pay them to not grow poppies.

Same thing as with our current subsidies that we pay American farmers. They are paid not to grow crops.

Now.......let's look at this logically okay? If cannabis were legal, then people would quit doing the things that are illegal in favor of the ones that are legal (at least most).

Then? Legalize marijuana and collect the taxes off of that and use that as a way to help pay for the subsidies that we are going to hand Afghanis. Shit.......pay them to grow cannabis instead of opium, and then give them a market to sell their product to! Opens up free trade, which fosters democracy, which in turn makes them feel better about us, and that would result in a peaceful place. The Taliban would then be neutralized, as people would be doing much better without them, and thus resulting in a win of the war on terrorism.

Nice eh?

How would you tax marijuanna. If it was legal everybody and their momma would be growing it in their backyards.

First off.............take the Catch 22 out of the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act. Make it so that you can bring your product in to have it certified WITHOUT arresting them for not having a stamp.

Next? Look at the multitude of people who grow their own fresh fruit and produce. I didn't know what store bought food was for much of my childhood. We had a garden (2 acre), and I worked in it every summer when I lived with my Grandparents. We also slaughtered our own beef. We still paid tax for our produce via taxes on feed, fertilizer and seeds. Oh yeah......on some of the plants, they were allowed to go to seed, so that way we didn't spend as much the next year. Farmer's Markets are another example of this. The farmers pay the tax, and pass it on to the consumer, but for a whole lot cheaper than what you could get at the store. Same with roadside fruit and vegetable stands.

And remember.........most people in this country live in cities or suburbs. There simply isn't the required space for them to grow their own (comfortably), and so they will pay someone else to grow and package it for them. Same with how grocery stores operate right now.

And............like I said..........if marijuana were legal, a lot of people would turn from their current drugs and just do plants.

Plants ARE NOT DRUGS! They are plants. Remember........God told Adam and Eve "if it grows out of the ground, you may partake of it". He also reiterated the same thing to Moses in Sinai.

Incidentally..........one of the 3 main ingredients of the Holy Anointing Oil for the Kings of Israel was cannabis oil.

And yes........Jesus smokes pot. I use the present tense as He was resurrected and is still alive.

 

[pete]

I seriously think marijuana and all drugs need to be legalized, why we spend billions on the insane war on <some> drugs boggles my mind and our insane foreign policy subsidizes a lot of things directly or indirectly from this shit to socialized medicine.

Right ... the jails and prisons would just about be empty saving a trillion right there!

Its your body and if you want to abuse it go ahead as long as it doesn't disrupt anyone else.

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know...........if it wasn't for the Shamen who blazed the trails for us, as well as others who researched many things, drugs wouldn't be here.

You want to know the difference between a plant and a drug? Plants grow naturally, drugs are refined by mankind. I consider cocoa leaves to be a decent way to deal with altitude.

I also consider cocaine to be a drug, and those that do it should be prosecuted, as it has been refined by mankind, and therefore is a drug.

Drugs have all the safety valves removed, plants don't.

 

[geauxtohell]

It seems now, in spite of all the talk about how much good it would do if we would only legalize cannabis, Obama wants to go over to Afghanistan and pay them to not grow poppies.

Same thing as with our current subsidies that we pay American farmers. They are paid not to grow crops.

Now.......let's look at this logically okay? If cannabis were legal, then people would quit doing the things that are illegal in favor of the ones that are legal (at least most).

Then? Legalize marijuana and collect the taxes off of that and use that as a way to help pay for the subsidies that we are going to hand Afghanis. Shit.......pay them to grow cannabis instead of opium, and then give them a market to sell their product to! Opens up free trade, which fosters democracy, which in turn makes them feel better about us, and that would result in a peaceful place. The Taliban would then be neutralized, as people would be doing much better without them, and thus resulting in a win of the war on terrorism.

Nice eh?

A large number of jherubs (akin to acres) in Afghanistan are already dedicated to growing hash. They don't call it "kush" for nothing.

At any rate, It actually makes sense (IMO) to subsidize Afghanis to grow wheat and alfalfa to level the market that they would get if they grow poppies. Without the illegal drug trade, the Taliban would lose a bulk of it's funding. Furthermore, it would allow the governement to gain some revenue as opposed to losing a significant portion of it's ag revenue to the black market.

No matter how you cut it, you can't get around the economic fact that poppies bring an exponentially larger revenue than legitimate crops.

We could subsidize Afghani farmers, cut down on our military footprint in A-stan, and save money in the process and (most importantly) have a configuration that is better suited to disrupt the Taliban.

 

[waltky]

Another record poppy crop in Afghanistan...

Afghan opium cultivation jumps 10% this year: UN
Mon, Oct 24, 2016 - Afghanistan saw a 10 percent jump in opium cultivation this year, a sharp rise owing to favorable weather, growing insecurity and a drop in international support for counternarcotics operations, the UN said yesterday.

Cultivation dropped last year owing to drought conditions, but it has been on the rise in the past decade, fueling the Taliban insurgency and spurring a growing crisis of drug addiction despite costly US-led counternarcotics programs. High levels of cultivation this year meant the total opium production soared 43 percent, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, citing better yield because of favorable weather conditions. “The cultivation has increased by 10 percent this year compared to the same time in 2015 — from 183,000 hectares to 201,000 hectares,” Afghan Counter Narcotics Minister Salamat Azimi told a joint news conference with the UN. “Ninety-three percent of the cultivation has taken place in the southern, eastern and western parts of the country,” he said.

A farmer harvests opium sap on April 19 from a poppy field in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.​

Officials also cited falling international donor support and growing insecurity as the main reasons for the increase in cultivation. Afghanistan saw a drop in opium cultivation last year for the first time since 2009, a UN report said, citing drought conditions as a key reason for the decline. Poppy farmers in Afghanistan, the world’s leading producer of opium, are often taxed by the Taliban, who use the cash to help fund their insurgency against government and NATO forces. “Most of the wars in Afghanistan are financed by income from poppy. Anywhere you see poppy in Afghanistan you see fighting there,” Afghan Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter Narcotics Baz Mohammad Ahmadi said.

International donors have splurged billions of dollars on counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan over the past decade, including efforts encouraging farmers to switch to other cash crops such as saffron. However, those efforts have shown little results. Addiction levels have also risen sharply — from almost nothing under the 1996 to 2001 Taliban regime — giving rise to a new generation of addicts since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Afghan opium cultivation jumps 10% this year: UN - Taipei Times

See also:

Opium production up in Afghanistan, eradication down
Oct. 23, 2016 -- Opium production in Afghanistan is up 43 percent over 2015 levels with very little eradication efforts in place, according to the latest Afghanistan Opium Survey.

Opium is used to produce heroin. The use of this illegal drug is on the rise in the United States with stronger enforcement taking place for abuse of prescription opioids. Data released Sunday by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and the U.S. Office on Drugs and Crime showed a 10 percent increase in the amount of land used to grow poppies, from which opium is extracted, Al Jazeera reported. Eradication efforts have dropped 91 percent since last year.

The increase in production is due to better farming conditions which have resulted in a higher yield, BBC reported. Producing opium is a crime in Afghanistan, but remains a robust cash crop for impoverished farming villages. The commodity is taxed by the Taliban, which uses the money as a major source of income for its military activities. The report, released Sunday, shows "a worrying reversal in efforts," said UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov. Afghanistan has a stated government policy that prohibits opium production, but is often accused of looking the other way.

Earlier this year, one farmer said the local government was aware of his crop, but knows it is the only way anyone can make "decent money." Afghanistan's southern region produces 54 percent of poppies. Helmand province produces the most, with more than 160,000 acres of land in cultivation. That area has also seen a resurgence in recent years of Taliban presence. Last year, when eradication efforts were much stronger, seven insurgents and one law officer died when eradication teams were attacked. That region saw clashes between the Taliban and NATO-led forces before NATO withdrew in 2014.

Opium production up in Afghanistan, eradication down

 

[Onyx]

The US is dealing drugs. Always has been.

It is a massive stimulus for the economy, and it keeps the ghettos in check.

 

[the other mike]

Has anything changed in 10 years ?

 

[Dekster]

I have poppies growing in my wildflower bed.

 

[Crixus]

You know...........if it wasn't for the Shamen who blazed the trails for us, as well as others who researched many things, drugs wouldn't be here.

You want to know the difference between a plant and a drug? Plants grow naturally, drugs are refined by mankind. I consider cocoa leaves to be a decent way to deal with altitude.

I also consider cocaine to be a drug, and those that do it should be prosecuted, as it has been refined by mankind, and therefore is a drug.

Drugs have all the safety valves removed, plants don't.

Eat three grams of cubes and get back to me on that! If chewing a coca leaf helps with altitude, then a line of cocaine helps kick altitudes ass! There are a plenty of non narcotic plants or homeopathic remedies that are just shit and not good for folks at all. The poppy has been used for centuries to enslave people. It’s a plant from satan flat out.

 

[Crixus]

Has anything changed in 10 years ?

View attachment 259899

No and it’s disgusting. Our troops have become nothing more then security guards for afghan poppy fields. That said, the “Alex Jones” part of my brain says the US protects the poppy fields because Iran is such a massive consumer of the opium. Just disgusting.