To Legalize or Not to Legalize?

The illicit opium cultivation and trade continues to undermine the efforts of the Afghan government, the United States and international community to improve security and promote development in Afghanistan. The negative effect on the nation's overall security, the corruption it facilitates in the public sector degrading governance, and the implications on the wealth and health of Afghans are reason enough to continuously assess the current counternarcotics strategy pursued by the Afghan government and its supporting international community.This research paper uses the problem/solution methodology. The research explores the current illicit opium cultivation in Afghanistan and its effect on the current development efforts. It will investigate the usefulness and applicability of the current counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan. More specifically, this researcher's goal is to determine if the emphasized eradication pillar of the counternarcotics strategy is appropriate. If not, this paper will present historical cases and identify common characteristics of each case applicable to Afghanistan. This paper presents two historical cases: India and Turkey. The goal of this effort is to assist policymakers in implementing an appropriate strategy to resolve the illicit opium cultivation and curtail its negative effect on the current development efforts.