Afghan opium poppy farmers turn to marijuana

KABUL, Afghanistan — 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 prov-inces, 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."

But a section of the report says the increase in marijuana cultivation "gives cause for concern. Cannabis has also spread to the north of Afghanistan and is observed to have increased particularly in Balkh province."

Alam, said he knows it's illegal to grow cannabis but he must do so to feed his children. He said the government cannot provide jobs or find markets for legal crops.

"The government cannot provide a good market for other crops like cotton, watermelon and vegetables, so I have to grow marijuana instead of poppy," he said.

Drug dealers from the southern poppy-growing provinces of Kandahar and Helmand travel north to buy marijuana and take it to Pakistan, Alam said.

Gen. Khodaidad, Afghani-stan's acting counter-narcotics minister, said the government doesn't yet have a good handle on marijuana.

"This is also a big problem for Afghanistan," said Khodaidad, who like many Afghans uses one name. "It is very cheap. Hashish is more harmful (than poppies) to the people of Afghanistan."

The U.N. said cannabis yields around twice the quantity of drug per acre as opium poppies and requires less investment.

The U.N. drug report estimated farmers growing cannabis could earn the same amount per acre as opium farmers. Afghanistan grows 93 percent of the world's opium.