Funding Terror : who is picking up the check?

What if we bought all the supply of the poppy fields and used it to make the opiate derivatives, other than heroin, that also have legitimate medical uses. It would be like the corn ethanol program except that it would actually make money. The severe climate and altitude of Afghanistan make it hard to make money with any crop. Opium however seems to thrive there, why not take advantage of that?

I really like this idea even though it wasn't mine. Hitchens said it. He makes a lot of sense when he's not talking about being a born-again atheist.