Reply #8: One of the things that is never mentioned [View All]

by anyone is the historical cultural ties in Afghanistan to opium.
Had an interesting conversation recently with a man whose grandfather left afghanistan when it was occupied by the British.
Turns out, it was common practice to smoke poppy opium but only as a sort of after dinner nightcap, much like we might have an afterdinner liquer. His grandfather smoked a small amount of opium once every day and yet remained a fully functioning, intelligent man.
As long as there is a cultural historical connection, and there are massive international markets clamoring for their product, is it any wonder that the poor afghani farmers resort to still growing poppies? It's the opium salesmen (some within our government ranks!) that are the problem, not the poor farmers.