Afghan surge

[mogster]

Strain: Afghani (Afghanistan)



"Cultivation: Hashish is produced practically everywhere in and around Afghanistan. The best kinds of Hash originate from the Northern provinces between Hindu Kush and the Russian border (Balkh, Mazar-i-Sharif). As tourist in Afghanistan it will be very difficult to be allowed to see Cannabis-Fields or Hash Production. The plants which are used for Hash production are very small and bushy Indicas. In Afghanistan Hashish is pressed by hand under addition of a small quantity of tea or water. The Hashish is worked on until it becomes highly elastic and has a strong aromatic smell. In Afghanistan the product is stored in the form of Hash-Balls (because a round ball has the less contact with air), however, before being shipped, the Hash is pressed in 100g slabs. Good qualities of Afghani are signed with the stem of the producing family. Sometimes Hash of this kind is sold as Royal Afghani. Color: Black on the outside, dark greenish or brown inside. Can sometimes look kind of grayish on the outside when left in contact with the air. Smell: Spicy to very spicy. Taste: Very spicy, somewhat harsh on the throat. Afghani can induce lots of coughing in inexperienced users. Consistency: Soft, can be kneaded very easily. Effect: Almost narcotic, produces a very physical and stony high. Potency: Potent, sometimes very potent. It's easy to underestimate the potency of Afghani since the high takes about 5 minutes to reach it's full potential. (1.7%-6.5% THC) Availability: Quite rare, especially good qualities. Beside Moroccan Hash, Afghani is the most common kind of Hash on the European market. The price is usually higher than Moroccan but quality differs greatly. If I have the choice of Moroccan or Afghani then I would go for the stonier and more narcotic Afghani. Various: The softest Afghani isn't always the best - coconut or other oils are often added in the originating country. There is also some Hash-Oil which is being produced from Afghani, usually the quality is excellent. Most people I know are bored of Afghani if they have to smoke it for a long time, on the other side there are people who love this stuff. Beware: Turkish Hash is sometimes offered under the name of Red Afghani."
Source

Yeah, you can laugh about this, but it's actually a cool Afghan export product in comparison to opium or terrorism :D

Joke aside, in Afghanistan today, the choice for the farmer is whether to produce opium, which ends as global heroin, or wheat, which ends as local bread. One must say that the latter would be preferred, both from a local and global perspective. During the Bush years, opium production increased a lot because of the Taliban strict religious rules were gone. In 2001, opium production was almost eradicated.



The Taliban knew what they were doing, because poppy fields provided an opportunity for an illegal economy, and more money for weapons and soldiers to insurgent groups, and they wanted total control. Today, the picture is reversed:

"Drug traffickers have a symbiotic relationship with insurgents and terrorist groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Instability makes opium cultivation possible; opium buys protection and pays for weapons and foot soldiers, and these in turn create an environment in which drug lords, insurgents and terrorists can operate with impunity."

The problem for the farmer wanting to go for wheat or other legal crop is a much lower price and more considerate process for bringing the goods to the market:

"With a farm gate price of approximately $125 per kilogram for dry opium, an Afghan farmer can make 17 times more profit growing opium poppy ($4,622 per hectare), than by growing wheat ($266 per hectare). "Opium poppy is also drought resistant, easy to transport and store, and, unlike many crops, requires no refrigeration and does not spoil."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan

It's no doubt that a future stable Afghanistan would require the poppy farming to be reduced, both for local security reasons and because Afghanistan is a major exporter of opium for heroin production. In 2007, a staggering 93% of the opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan.



What kills more civilians - terrorism or heroin? :shrug:

But this destructive export is also a vital part of the Afghan economy, bringing export values of $64 billion to a poor country in desperate need of self generated money, even though it's ending in the illegal economy. A luxury problem at the moment, as the 2008/9 season has seen wheat growth drop 55% due to drought, and you can't eat your gun.



"Afghanistan suffered a severe drought last year which decimated its 2008/09 winter grain crop and caused an acute food and feed-grain shortage throughout much of the country. Wheat production is estimated by USDA to have fallen 55 percent from the previous year. This major shortfall in production of the nation’s staple grain crop was also exacerbated by disruptions in regional grain trade (export bans) and increasing conflict in major transport corridors along the Pakistani border, resulting in record high domestic food grain prices and increasing food insecurity."

2010/11 season looks better:

"The USDA currently forecasts Afghanistan’s 2009/10 wheat crop at 3.4 million tons, up 1.9 million or 127 percent from last year. The sharp rebound in wheat production should help alleviate existing regional grain shortages, assist the government in building emergency stocks, help reduce imports to more normal levels, and cause a significant decline in persistently high food grain prices in the country."
http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/highlights/2009/06/Afghanistan/

Of other products for export or local consumption is fruit and wool. Trade is on the rise, but is dwarfed by the illegal trade.

"The current trade between Afghanistan and other countries is at US$5 billion a year. In 1996, legal exports (excluding opium) were estimated at $80 million and imports estimated at $150 million per year. Since the collapse of the Taliban government in 2001, new trade relations are emerging with the United States, Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, the EU, Japan, Uzbekistan, India and other countries. Trade between Afghanistan and the U.S. is beginning to grow at a fast pace, reaching up to approximately $500 million per year."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Afghanistan

The cannabis growth increased under Bush too, I don't have the current numbers:

"Afghanistan cannabis crop up 40 percent
The fields of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan were free of opium poppies this year, a success touted often by Afghan and international officials. But one look at Mohammad Alam's fields uncovers an emerging drug problem.

Ten-foot-tall cannabis plants flourish in Alam's fields. The crop — the source of both marijuana and hashish — can be just as profitable as opium but draws none of the scrutiny from Afghan officials bent on eradicating poppies.

Cannabis cultivation rose 40 percent in Afghanistan this year, to 173,000 acres from 123,550 in 2006, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimated in its 2007 opium survey. The crop is being grown in at least 18 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, according to the survey released last month.

The U.N. report singles out Balkh as a "leading example" of an opium-free province, saying other areas should follow "the model of this northern region where leadership, incentives and security have led farmers to turn their backs on opium."

However, a section of the report says the increase in marijuana cultivation "gives cause for concern.""

Darn, I hope they get the bastards.

""We know marijuana is an illegal crop, but we are very poor and we have to grow it to help our families survive," he said. "I don't like growing poppy or marijuana. I don't want people to become addicted to these things, but I have to feed my children and I have no other way.""
http://www.afghannews.net/index.php?action=show&type=news&id=2534

No doubt: a large part of winning the war would be to win the peace, and create a society of sustained development based on the fact that people can verify for themselves that things are getting better. We've been there for eight years, we must turn the bad trends that existed under the Bush government, or people will laugh their ass of. A legal economy, unions and organization building must be central issues as much as military progress and building of army and police forces.

Peace.