Back story here.
Afghanistan's opium poppy harvest could be used to produce diamorphine for use in the NHS, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.
Diamorphine, which is used to relieve pain and for the terminally ill, is currently in short supply in the UK.
The BMA told the BBC that harnessing the crop, rather than destroying it, could solve the current shortage, benefiting patients as well as providing an income for Afghan farmers.
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NB - Diamorphine is the British trade name for diacetylmorphine, better known under the trade name with which its originator, Bayer, launched it at the end of the 19th century...heroin.
Heroin (so called because it was purported to make the user feel heroic) was sold freely over-the-counter at that time in a number of forms -- the most interesting of which was as a cough syrup.
Bayer had a penchant for narcotics. Among its later contributions to the market was methadone, which it sold in the 1930s under the the trade name Dolophine (named in honor of der führer.
So, in effect, this would just be continuing the business under new management.
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