The director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) said at a news conference that Afghan poppies will be sprayed with herbicide to combat a steep rise in opium production in Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported Dec. 9.

At the press conference attended primarily by Afghan journalists, ONDCP's John Walters tried to assuage the fears of many war-weary Afghans about aerial spraying of chemicals. Walters said Afghan government officials have agreed to ground spraying, though he did not specify when the program would begin.

Afghanistan produced enough opium this year to make about 670 tons of heroin, which is more than 90% of the world's supply and more than what users consume in one year. Walters believes the country could become a "narco-state" unless it moves dramatically to curb poppy cultivation.

"We cannot fail in this mission," Walters said. "Proceeds from opium production feed the insurgency and burden Afghanistan's nascent political institutions with the scourge of corruption."

Walters said the herbicide glyphosate -- marketed in the United States under the brand name Roundup -- would be used on the Afghan poppies. The same herbicide is used against coca plant cultivation in Colombia.