Kashmir Government Eradicates Drug Crop

DUPATYAR, KASHMIR, INDIA - AUGUST 05: Kashmir government officials destroy illegally cultivated Cannabis or Marijuana or Indian hemp (Cannabis sativa), on a patch of land that is cultivated by farmers for extraction of hash on August 05, 2014 in Dupatyar 45 km (28 miles) south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir, India. The government has identified 50 hectares of land in South Kashmir villages that will be destroyed over a three month tenure. A kilogram of hash costs $ 1480 (90,000 INR) and the cultivation of cannabis is banned under sate law. The drug abuse in Indian administered Kashmir is gripping the valley youth at an alarming increase. According to a United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) sponsored survey, Kashmir division alone had 70,000 drug addicts including 4000 women in the year 2008. Experts say that among the drugs consumed in the valley are medicinal opiates, such as Spasmoproxyvon, Alprazolam, Codine phosphate, Diazepam, Alprax and cannabis derivatives like hashish and marijuana. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)