Gordon Brown is Allergic to Afghan Analgesics

For a few months, I have been working with MEP Marco Cappato on a report on Afghan opium that he eventually introduced to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament as a recommendation to the European Council urging the EU to promote opium-based analgesics the world over and, to address the poppy factor in Afghanistan, launch a pilot project for its legal production for medical purposes in that country.

The document was presented at the beginning of July before the Foreign Affairs Committee and received several oral comments and written amendments that Mr. Cappato will need to incorporate, or reject, before the report is discussed at the EP next week. On 23 August last, the British Government, the biggest financial supporter of poppy eradication in Afghanistan, circulated a memo that discourages MEPs to vote in favor of such a a proposal; here it is:

UK GOVERNMENT BRIEFING NOTE FOR MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
23 August 2007

Title: European Parliament recommendation to the Council on production of opium for medical purposes in Afghanistan
Doc No: B6‑0187/2007

Legislative Procedure/Reading: Own Initiative Report

Rapporteur/EP committee: Marco Cappato / Foreign Affairs Committee

1. Summary
The Foreign Affairs Committee will discuss an EP Own Initiative report, proposed by ALDE, entitled "Production of opium for medical purposes in Afghanistan" on 11-12 September. The report urges the Council to adopt a common position - pursuant to Article 15 of the Treaty on European Union - towards the "production of poppies for medical purposes to be used, in the framework of an internationally managed pilot project, for the production of opium-based analgesics for the national Afghan market and possibly for those countries that experience a lack of availability of opiates".

2. Key concerns
The Government of Afghanistan, with the full support of the UK, has judged that licit cultivation of opium in Afghanistan would not be an effective method of tackling the illegal production and trade in opium and heroin for the following reasons:

- Insufficient infrastructure. The Afghan government has ruled out licit cultivation as a means for tackling the drug trade. They accept they do not have the capacity to administer a licit cultivation scheme. There is a high chance that licit cultivation would be diverted for illicit purposes. The UK supports their decision

- Not economically competitive. Based on the latest figures available, the production costs for the equivalent of 1 kg of morphine is US$56 in Australia, US$159 in India and US$250 in Turkey. The current cost in Afghanistan is approximately US$450.

- Enormous scope of expansion. Opium poppy is grown on less than 4% of agricultural land. Licit cultivation would add to existing illicit cultivation, not replace it. It would attract more farmers to cultivate poppy.

- No shortage of opium for medicines. The UK Department of Health have confirmed that the perception of a shortage in legally-produced opium for medicinal purposes is a misunderstanding. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) stated in 2006 that an over production in licit opiates since 2000 has led to stockpiles in producing countries 'that could cover demand for two years'. Afghan opium would therefore contribute to an already oversupplied market.

The Council, in Conclusions of 23 February on Drugs and the Rule of Law in Afghanistan stated that it “reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Government of Afghanistan, which has primary ownership of the process, in its efforts to tackle drugs through the National Drug Control Strategy.”

The international donor community in Afghanistan does not support such proposals.

3. European Parliament consideration

The Foreign Affairs Committee will discuss the report on 11 September and vote in Committee on 12 September. The political parties are due to discuss it between 17-20 October and it is due for a Plenary vote on 23 October

4. Official Contact Point for Further Information

Damon Bristow
e-mail: damon.bristow@fco.gov.uk
tel: + 44 (0)20 7008 2411

Alexander Naqvi
e-mail: alexander.naqvi@fco.gov.uk
tel: + 32 2 287 8368