Because of the serious threat that the illegal drug economy poses to stability and democracy in Afghanistan, we must start thinking in terms of regulated poppy growing for medical purposes, in particular for painkillers, with the active participation of donor countries and the UN itself. Indeed, the UN estimates that just six countries prescribe 78% of the total legal production of opiates, implying shortages of opium-based painkillers in many of the UN’s 185 other member states.