Pubdate: Thu, 27 Sep 2001
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright: 2001 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
Contact:  http://www.star-telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/162

TALIBAN TO LIFT OPIUM BAN IF U.S. ATTACKS, U.N. SAYS

WASHINGTON - Afghanistan's dramatic drop in opium production will probably 
be reversed as a result of the war on terrorism, U.S. and U.N. officials said.

U.N. officials said the Taliban government in Afghanistan has told farmers 
they can once again produce opium, the raw material for heroin, if the 
United States launches an attack on the country, reversing its position 
last year when the group's leader said drug cultivation was "un-Islamic."

Afghanistan had been the world's leading producer of opium before the 
Taliban, citing Islamic religious principles, banned it in July 2000, 
resulting in a 97 percent drop in production.

Opium had been an important source of revenue for the Taliban as they 
fought an opposition coalition in the northern part of the country.

Drug control officials said the decision will probably result in a boom of 
opium cultivation beginning in about two weeks, the start of growing season.
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