Afghanistan And Colombia Drug Production

EDM number 431 in 2005-06, proposed by Paul Flynn on 28/06/2005.

That this House notes that, in spite of increased spending by the UK Government on measures to decrease heroin poppy cultivation in Afghanistan from £31,000 in 2001 to £20 million in 2005, heroin production has increased from 185 tonnes to a record 131,000 tonnes; believes that the war on Afghan drugs will replicate the anarchy that similar action caused in Colombia; further notes that destroying drug crops in Colombia has not cut production in South America but has created a state of permanent civil war involving three armies, two of which are funded by drug money; asserts that if spending more UK taxpayers' money on this misguided policy succeeds in interrupting the supply of Afghan heroin it will be immediately replaced by increased production from Pakistan, Myanmar and Kazakhstan, leading to bloody chaos in a huge area of Central Asia; and believes that the only practical way to reduce heroin use is by cutting demand.

This motion has been signed by a total of 19 MPs.