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 Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics 
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Post Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/24/health/he ... index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/o ... .html?_r=0

http://drugfree.org/learn/drug-and-alco ... 017-study/

I have noticed a pattern in the news over the past year. Heroine use and deaths are on the rise in the US. It is a problem hitting the US, but not elsewhere.

I am not a conspiracy theorists, but I often wonder if some of these type problems are not more preventable. I often think that dirty politics have way more to do with some of these issues than we realize.

In 2010 I was on one of my Afghanistan deployments, and was an advisor for a brigade commander of the Afghani Elite National Police (ANCOP). The commander and I got summoned to a higher level planning meeting down in Helmand Province. There were some higher ranking US officers, general level Afghani officers, and Afghani government officials. The reason for the meeting was to discuss how the government could secure migrant workers heading into Helmand to harvest the opium crop without having any influx of terrorism or violence increase during the harvest season.

During the meeting when they were discussing various policing strategies, I stood up and asked a question. We knew the Taliban was financed by the opium trade, and we also knew that heroin use was on the rise in the US. I asked why we did not just block off the area, not allow the opium to be harvested, and to just let the opium poppies rot in the fields. I figured it killed multiple birds with one stone, as it would defund the Taliban, put a major dent in the world's supply of opium, and would prevent an influx of outsiders from heading into Helmand.

I was quickly escorted outside that meeting by a Marine full bird Colonel (I was a Major at the time). He very firmly let me know that such statements were not to be made again, and that question about destroying the opium fields were not permitted. Discussion or questions from me were not entertained by the Colonel, and I went about my business of advising.

I have never forgot that incident.

While I understand that destroying those fields is somewhat like playing Whack-a-mole, because some other part of the world will pick up the slack and produce what you just destroyed. I still believe putting a dent in the opium market would have been a good thing.

I often wonder if there are not logical and useful ways that the drug trade in America could not be crushed. I am not so much talking about marijuana, but more the opiates, meth, heroine, Cocaine.. We know where it comes from, we know it comes across the Mexican border, we know what gangs distribute it, yet the problem seems to grow, not get better.

Perhaps if the War on Drugs was replaced with a war on drug dealers, we would make more progress.

Just my thoughts and ramblings on the subject.


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Uncle J 18x54

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Tue Mar 28, 2017 7:29 pm
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
Heroin is also becoming more popular due in part to the insane amount of RX painkiller addiction that's taken off in the past couple decades. It turns out that when you hand out heavy narcotics like fucking tic tacs people tend to take a liking to it. When it gets too 'spensive or the Dr pulls the plug after they are all ate up.....they just move to the junk. It's all by design as far as Im concerned. The pharmaceutical industry in the US wouldn't spend the most in lobbying every year if they weren't getting something out of it.


Tue Mar 28, 2017 8:32 pm
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
Brickgw - yep, lots of folks start out on prescription opioids and then make the switch. Betting there are no shortage of folks on the take when you boil it all down.

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Tue Mar 28, 2017 8:55 pm
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
Is that you in the pic or one of those photos we see on memes of a soldier guarding opium fields? And are there soldiers actually guarding them?


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Wed Mar 29, 2017 4:17 am
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
Flint- that is me in the pic. The dude in the background with the RPG is an ANCOP enlisted troop. Just days prior we cleared the route from Marjah to Nad-A-Lee. Marines were still holding Marjah and British had Nad-A-Lee, but the route between them was sort of no man's land. No soldiers actually guarded the poppies, but they did secure routes for migrant workers to harvest the opium.

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Uncle J 18x54

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Wed Mar 29, 2017 6:28 am
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
Nail on the head with the painkiller addiction leading to heroin abuse. The drs and pharmacist are making it harder and harder to get, so the addicts turn to an easier to get, cheaper, better, junk!
And a poor sob that actually needs the shit gets treated like a junkie when he gotta get meds.


Wed Mar 29, 2017 7:13 am
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
Yep, lots of good people with legit injuries get on pain meds and then have difficulty getting off. Rush Limbaugh had that happen. Like the earlier comments, the pharmaceuticals walk away with the money.

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Wed Mar 29, 2017 7:40 am
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics

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Wed Mar 29, 2017 8:38 am
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
Meth is another interesting topic. Rural America is eat up with it.

Trailer park meth labs are about a thing of the past.

In central America they are running meth factories. They buy ingredients bulk from China. It comes across the porous southern border.

I agree with Hot Sauce. It could be controlled to a much better degree. It is left as is for a reason

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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
rangerp is correct there are methamphetamine superlabs in South America that produce and operate on a larger scale than any could in the U.S. These labs also purchase in bulk and reduce the cost so most in the U.S could buy bulk from south of the border cheaper than they could ever produce on their own.

The answer to the U.S drug problem is very unclear its so deeply rooted in the us culture and economy that there would have to be a solution to one extreme or another. The two choices are decriminalize it or overcriminalize it at every level.

To decriminalize it and let nature take its course meaning that you let the addicts, dealers, and those over them operate freely until the market consumes itself. This approach would have one huge drawback in common with the other solution in the aspect that there would be "war in the streets" letting those in the trade operate without any obstruction from law enforcement or government. You would have the crime surge with this approach until it there is no balance and by that I mean that addicts die off from their lifestyle or dealers numbers increase until the market is too competitive and they make little or no money essentially starving them out.

To overcriminalize the drug trade would be to have a real zero tolerance policy and by that I mean there would be severe punishment for the smallest amount of drug related crime. The surge of those involved in the trade would fight at first creating chaos but instead of them fighting amongst themselves mostly they will be at war with the law enforcement and the government and these conflicts will happen on the streets of the U.S. This approach would take longer as there would have to be massive action from city county and federal law enforcement costing time and money to the taxpayers.


There are a ton of "pros and cons" to each solution and I could type all day and still not list them all. Either way this half assed approach to the drug problem the government has done so far is not working! The government has very little control of this market but they are reluctant to admit it and very reluctant to give up what control they do have due to the money it makes them. If it continues the way it is now with no drastic change to one end of the spectrum or the other the drug trade will continue to flourish and the government will be happy with lying to itself cause the get a little of the action.

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Wed Mar 29, 2017 9:54 am
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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
HOTSAUCE - sounds like you could write a paper and publish it on the topic. Outstanding insights.


Never thought I would say this, but I wonder if there is any validity to legalizing marijuana. Free up police from worrying about weed, and then do a full court press on things like meth and heroin. I am sure there are strong arguments for and against.

Not to go full blown Zombie Apocalypse, but I wonder what would happen if there was a national disaster that effected most of the nation, and the dope heads could not get their dope. If memory serves me correctly, the hard core folks doing the crimes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina were the dopers.

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Post Re: Rise of Heroin and the Politics of Politics
I will say unfortunaltely no, it wasn't just the dopers after Katrina.


Wed Mar 29, 2017 12:47 pm
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