Afghanistan and opioids

Afghanistan is the world’s biggest supplier of opiates. Even though the production of opium is against Islam, it is doubtful that the Taliban will enforce that given all of the profit involved. Many Afghan farmers and laborers depend upon opium production to feed their families

Opioids are a class of drugs naturally found in the opium poppy plant and work in the brain to produce a variety of effects, including the relief of pain with many of these drugs. As a Substance Use Disorder professional, I have seen how easy it is to take too much, to ease the pain. Prescription medications often referred to as painkillers, are used to block pain signals between the brain and the body and are typically prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain.

Three former pilots, vet buddies of mine, that I know up this way, that flew for Air America during the Vietnam War and afterward, all told me that the demand for opium in this country by pharmaceutical companies was so great, there will hardly be a disruption in the opium flow, which makes me wonder, who controls the flow?

James Gordon Perkins

Colville