This story and claim about half a billion value is being repeated by newspapers and websites around the world.
Don’t they think for a moment? An acre of poppies might get you 15 pounds of raw opium. After processing into heroin it might have a final street value of more like half a million.
The typical single family poppy farm in many parts of Asia is around an acre. They sure are not looking at half a billion per family. Maybe five thousand dollars for the raw product from one acre?
@sorghum - I’ve started reading everything lately with a bit of a slanted view. It seems to me that every news piece is now designed to shock and awe, to heck with the “reality” we’ll fix it later…I don’t really know when this trend in news started, but certainly the last year has made it abundantly obvious.
I agree " . And I notice how often the same exact news is repeated at a variety of news outlets, so really, there isn’t as much ‘news’ as it seems. But rather the same article repeated over and over. And I have to wonder if anyone actually fact checks the original story!
Is that valuation for the life of the plant?
Opium poppies are annuals, not perennials. 
http://awaytogarden.com/an-easy-annual-poppy-papaver-somniferum/
On another note, Sorghum, I don’t know whether to be impressed or frightened that you know this!
(Or should I call you Walter? :-)))