Opium: Afghan kids gotta have it

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Opium—used for centuries as a painkiller and recreational narcotic in Europe and throughout the world—is now so popular as a village panacea and emotional palliative in Afghanistan that one million Afghans are hooked. Even more disturbing is the fact that, according to the United Nations, some 600,000 of those addicts are under 15. In some areas of the country, giving opium to children is a common method of treating insomnia, bad behavior, and “ADD”-like symptoms. Sometimes, it’s way of simply feeding an addiction that began in utero. Al Jazeera sent a reporter to the northeastern province of Badakshan to investigate the phenomenon:

Three-year-old Said is an opium addict. Without it, he becomes restless. His mother Zarbibi shares her child’s condition. She herself is a user and has been one for the past four years. Zarbibi routinely blows opium into Said’s face to keep him quiet. It is the only way she knows how to free herself so that she can work. She said: ‘Whenever I have chores or work at home, I give my son opium so he would stay calm. I also give him opium so he can sleep. When I realised he became an addict, I regretted it.'”

Another woman in the story feeds her daughter opium-laced breastmilk and “blows opium smoke on her child’s face to keep her from crying.”