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Drugs and Government
Governments have a long history of involvement in the illegal drug trade
Date: 9/25/2008 8:04:14 PM ( 16 y ) ... viewed 2111 times Intro - In reading the book "The Politics of Heroin", it becomes evident that there is a lot of history that has not been taught in schools and that the public is unaware of concerning opiate drugs.
I am writing this essay more-or-less off the top of my head and with some referances to notes I have made since reading a number of books this past year. It is meant to show that there are various reasons for restricting the use of opiate drugs such as morphine and heroin, and that those reasons have little or nothing to do with the health of patients. I am one of those who is directly impacted by this restriction, and that alone is enough to inspire me to find out more on the topic of morphine restriction, but I would think that most people would want to know about the material below.
Also, in the near future, I will write an essay on "the biochemistry of plant based medicines and human evolution" and the human rights violation of restricing access to them.
Drugs and Government
"the politics of heroin"
Political power is often enhanced by having control of the drug trade. From the 1800s in China to the modern era of Nixon's farcical "War on Drugs", leaders of certain nations have been covertly involved in the drug trade to win loyalties, get information, and to secure funding for various "unsavoury actions" involving militant actions against opposing political factions such as 'upstart socialist groups' or communist expansionism.
It works like this - drug trafficing routes that will be used by organised crime networks are set up by various agencies of government [often created just for these purposes], and protection for the refining labs and sales of drugs are ensured by enforcement agencies working for those governments. Those organised crime groups will return the favour by doing various "para-military activites" for the government who is helping them prosper in the illegal drug trade.
Historical Examples:
For example, in France there was the famous "resistance movement" against the German invaders. These resistance fighters were often individuals who belonged to organised crime groups and therefore had experience in "urban combat"; they were either paid with heroin or their organised crime syndicates were rewarded for the efforts of the resistance fighters from the crime syndicates by being allowed to carry on in the illegal drug trade. Also, under de Gaulle a somewhat secretive government agency was set up that worked with organised crime syndicates who did the "dirty work" of assassinations of opposing political groups, sometimes in France and also in Morrocco and Algeria in return for being allowed to carry on in the drug trade [mostly heroin in those days] ; the government agents would actually help set up the drug trafficing routes and provide protection for labs that refined the opium into heroin, as well as supply weapons to the crime syndicate. .
Another example is from China, where Chiang Kai Shek got a significant boost to power thru his relationship with China's "Opium King" Tu ... ... who was also the leader of the Green Gang, the oldest criminal organisation in China dating back 22 generations at that time. The opium came from the Chinese highlands, and was transported down the length of the Yangtse river, gaurded by government troops, with full complicity and encouragement by the Chinese government of Chiang Kai Shek. Three offical banks in China at that time were dedicated to financing the drug trade.
After that there was the resistance to the Chinese communist party's incursions into S.E. Asia, and the resulting American involvement in the heroin trade as a way to help fund the resistance to the communists. The Chinese republic army was forced out of China and fled to the hills of "The Golden Triangle", where they continued their fight against the communists. The Americans were very keen that these former Chinese army fighters, and other local recruits that joined them along the way, would continue their fight against the communists, and also provide information ["intelligence"] to America. In return, Americans helped supply them with weapons and financial aid to pay the fighters and to get new recruits with. Much of those fighter's finances also came from the local opium, which was grown in those same hills of Burma and Thailand and Laos, etc., and transported through Veitnam to markets in Europe and the USA. The "Air America" planes of the CIA in the Vietnam war era were used to help move that raw opium to Saigon, where the labs were that refined it into heroin, and that all helped to create much more wealth from that raw opium. Also, since the biggest and richest market for refined heroin was within the USA, the American G.I's were "given" that pure #4 grade heroin which resulted in the creation of more heroin being trafficed into the USA, often in the coffins of dead American soldiers. This was done with the complete and complicit knowledge of the CIA ; the DEA was openly frustrated by this but could do nothing but watch it happen because of the directives given by Pres. Nixon. Further information, and indeed evidence, is available online and in books.**
Another example of this sort of military action was when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and the CIA paid for the guns and other weapons that the Mujahdeen [Afghans and Pakistanis] used to fight the Soviets with. That money, through the CIA, did not come from American budgets, but from the sale of Heroin [most of which came to the USA]. An estimate of the amount of weaponry that the Mujahdeen had at that time, compared to the amount of "official money" budgetted by the USA for the Mujahdeen, shows that the official money was nowhere near enough - it had to come from somewhere, and unofficial sources cite that it came from the sale of heroin.
And of course, going backwards in time, there was the famous "Opium Wars" in China, whereBritish merchant ships were moving opium from Turkey and other areas into China, were there were millions of Chinese addicted to smoking opium. This produced such a huge drag on the Chinese economy, as money moved out of China and into British merchant's hands, that China started to produce it's own opium, and also tried to end the practices of smoking opium. The British then invaded China, mainly Shanghai, in order to keep the opium trade going. It was, after all, Britian's biggest source of wealth at that time!!!
Conclusion -
All that is to show that opiate drugs are being kept illegal so that the trade in it can provide financing for various "unsavoury actions" of certain governments. Now, in the 21st C., it is particularly a tool of the American government, using illegal drug trade as a way to fund some of it's foreign policy initiatives around the world today.
When we see the real reason for keeping heroin illegal, we can also begin to get some insight into the reasons that "medical morphine" is prescribed only in strictly small amounts. It has little to do with good health outcomes for the patient, but more to do with keeping the market for illegal drugs strong, especially in the world's richest illegal drug marketplace - North American cities. Prescribing morphine, or heroin for patients [as they do in Britian, by the way] in sufficient amounts to cover the legitimate needs of people in pain would wipe out a large part of the illegal drug market.
Also, of course, there is the slightly less lucrative "pharmaceutical drug market", which the doctors are beholden to for their education, medical research, etc.. Plant-based medicines, including the opiate drugs [from poppies], would quickly take the place of most of the pharmaceutical products if the plant-based medicines were not kept prohibited. This would mean a huge loss of revenue for the pharmaceutical corporations, even though patients would benefit due to the less toxic qualities of the plant-based medicines. ***
* see the movie "American Gangster" for one part of this story, where an American Gangster makes a connection with the Asian heroin dealers.
** Just "google" Heroin Vietnam CIA and see what comes up, and read "The Politics of Heroin" or any of dozens of other books on the subject. I can get a list for you, just ask.
*** There is a mirrored situation with the oil industry, which would suffer losses if hemp were allowed for it's many uses ; also, if renewable energy systems and electric cars were either allowed or given an equal playing field in the energy marketplace of our economy.
PS - there is another PRIME "historical example" I left out on purpose, to prod the reader to think about what has been going on... it was in the news.... ["O.N." is the clue]
ADDED LATER - to be included in above in rewrites - the term "Narco-State" is now popular and understood to mean "a state where narcotics trafficing is the major economic driver in that nation, and where the government is complicit and encouraging of this traffic".
SEE - 2007 War on Drugs folder, including "Narco State creation" and others saved there.
NEXT - see my essay on "plant based medicines and human evolution" and the human rights violations concerning them.
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