Doc suggests opium for medicinal heroin
LONDON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A leading British doctor says opium from Afghanistan could be the answer to the country's shortage of medicinal heroin.
There is currently a severe shortage of legal diamorphine, the medical name for heroin used as a painkiller for the terminally ill in Britain, the London Independent reported.
The newspaper said the idea has been rejected by both the Department of Health in Britain and the Afghan government.
Dr. Vivienne Nathanson, the British Medical Association's head of science and ethics, told the BBC Britain should use the opium being destroyed by British soldiers in Afghanistan to produce heroin for medicinal use.
The destruction of Afghan poppy fields has left many farmers destitute and is believed to be a major factor in the popularity of the Taliban insurgency in the south and east, the newspaper said.
If we were harvesting this drug from Afghanistan rather than destroying it, we'd be benefiting the population of Afghanistan as well as helping patients, Nathanson said. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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