Opium-Based Medicine Production in Sistan

The Food and Drug Organization has issued a permit to set up a production line for opium-based medicines in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan Province, said FDA head Rasoul Dinarvand, on Tuesday. “Permits for establishment of factories for such painkillers will only be issued to this province and Kerman,” he said at a meeting with provincial FDA departments in Zahedan, IRNA reported.

The two provinces are the main destinations for opium smuggled from Afghanistan and bound for European countries. The establishment of the production lines will help create job opportunities and sustainable livelihoods for the locals.

“Given that there are over 350 species of herbal plants in Sistan-Baluchistan, launching traditional medicine production lines will also help tap into the capacities of the province and reinvigorate the economy,” Dinarvand noted.