The recent debate in the Balochistan Assembly over the increasing cultivation of poppy in the province has, once again, brought to light an uncomfortable but necessary conversation. Can poppy be harnessed as a legitimate source of revenue? While the knee-jerk reaction is often to denounce poppy due to its association with illicit drugs, it is time to view the issue through a pragmatic and economically informed lens.
With Afghanistan’s strict ban on opium cultivation under the Taliban, the regional dynamics of poppy production have shifted. Farmers across the Baloch and Pashtun belt of Pakistan – facing poverty and limited state support ùare increasingly turning to poppy as a high-value cash crop. Instead of allowing this trade to operate in the shadows, Pakistan should explore regulated cultivation of poppy for medicinal and pharmaceutical use, thereby generating revenue and curbing illegal trafficking.
Globally, countries like India, Turkey and Australia have long-established state-regulated systems for cultivating opium poppies for the production of painkillers such as morphine and codeine. These systems prove that poppy can be grown responsibly and legally under strict government oversight. There is no reason Pakistan, with proper legislation and institutional support, cannot follow a similar path.
The potential export market to pharmaceuticals is massive. Moreover, a state-regulated poppy economy could draw people away from trafficking networks, allowing the government to exert more control over borderlands where its writ is already weak. The revenue generated can be redirected into rural development – precisely in the areas most affected by instability.
To be clear, this is not a call for reckless liberalisation. Any policy to regulate poppy must be accompanied by ironclad monitoring mechanisms and a clear distinction between legitimate pharmaceutical production and narcotics trafficking. But to ignore the economic potential of poppy is to ignore a potential solution.
