Black market cash crops

Cash Crop’ is the term given to the cultivation of crops for profit, and not for the subsistence of the grower’s family. Traditionally cash crops have only been a smaller, but necessary, part of a yield, in order to raise funds to invest in next year’s crop, and to meet the other life needs of the farmer.

In many tropical and subtropical areas, jute, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane

, bananas, oranges and cotton are common cash crops. The term is used to differentiate from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer's own livestock or grown as food for the producer's family. In earlier times cash crops were usually only a small (but vital) part of a farm's total yield, while today, especially in the developed countries, almost all crops are mainly grown for cash. In non-developed nations, cash crops are usually crops which attract demand in more developed nations, and hence have some export value.

There are also black market cash crops, i.e. those that are grown for use in illegal narcotics, such as coca (for cocaine), poppies (for opium) and cannabis.

Coca:

The coca plant resembles a blackthorn bush, and grows to a height of 2-3 m (7–10 ft). The branches are straight, and the leaves are thin, opaque, oval, and taper at the extremities. A marked characteristic of the leaf is an areolated portion bounded by two longitudinal curved lines, one line on each side of the midrib, and more conspicuous on the under face of the leaf.

The flowers are small, and disposed in clusters on short stalks; the corolla is composed of five yellowish-white petals, the anthers are heart-shaped, and the pistil consists of three carpels united to form a three-chambered ovary. The flowers mature into red berries.

There are two species of cultivated coca, each with two varieties:

Erythroxylum coca:

• ·         Erythroxylum coca var. Coca
• ·         Erythroxylum coca var. ipadu 

  Erythroxylum novogranatense

•             Erythroxylum novogranatense var. novogranatense 
    ·     Erythroxylum novogranatense var. Truxillense

     

Poppies:

Opium poppies are grown for medical and food purposes. Poppies need high quality soils, reliable water and specifi c security measures. This makes North West Tasmania uniquely placed for growingpoppies.

Papaver somniferum has many subspecies or varieties and cultivars. Colors of the flower vary widely, as do other physical characteristics, such as number and shape of petals, number of flowers and fruits, number of seeds, color of seeds, production of opium, etc. Papaver somniferum Paeoniflorum group (sometimes called Papaver paeoniflorum) is a subtype of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double, and are grown in many colors. P. somniferum Laciniatum group (sometimes called Papaver laciniatum) is a subtype of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double and deeply lobed, to the point of looking like a ruffly pompon. A few of the varieties, notably the 'Norman' and 'Przemko' varieties, have low morphine content (less than 1%), and much higher concentrations of other alkaloids. Most varieties, however, including those most popular for ornamental use or seed production, have a higher morphine content, with the average content being 10%.

Poppy straw contains ‘opiates’. Opiates are natural products used in medicine to make painkillers (morphine and codeine) and cough medicines (codeine). Morphine is used to treat severe pain, and can be addicti ve. Poppy seeds do not contain the opiates found in the straw, and are sold for food. Examples of the use of poppy seeds in food include baked goods and poppy seed oil. Lots of scienti sts are employed to fi nd out more about growing poppies and their medicinal and food uses.

Cannabis:

The cannabis drugs commonly used in India are derived from the flowers, leaves (and the resinous matter derived therefrom), fruit, young twigs and bark of the stem of the plant Cannabis sativa Linn. of the familyCannabinaceae. At one time, Cannabis indica Lamk. was considered as a distinct species, but the Indian plant has now been reduced to Cannabis sativa Linn. Even the plant growing under different climatic conditions in the vast Indo-Pakistan sub-continent shows remarkable variations in appearance; those variations at first may give the impression of separate species.

The plant has a widespread natural distribution in Asia and is found growing in abundance in the territories to the south of the Caspian Sea, in Siberia, in the Kirghiz desert in Russian Turkistan, in central and southern Russia and along the lower slopes of the Caucasus mountains. In China, where probably it is indigenous on the lower mountain tracts, it has been known since the sixth century B.C. It grows in an almost wild state in Iran.

In India the plant is found growing wild throughout the Himalayan foothills and the adjoining plains, from Kashmir in the west to Assam in the east. It has become acclimatized to the plains of India and grows even in the warm climate of southern India, producing its narcotic principles.