Q: Is the U.S. doing anything to reduce Afghanistan’s dependence on the opium trade?
— Tony Gardner, Cumming
A: The U.S. has spent about $10 billion since 2002 to combat opium poppy production and the drug trade in Afghanistan, John F. Sopko, the special inspector general of Afghanistan reconstruction, told the U.S. Senate in January. The U.S. has spent $7 billion on "a wide variety of programs to reduce poppy cultivation, prevent narcotics production, treat drug addiction and improve the criminal justice system to combat drug trafficking," according to Sopko's report. The U.S. has spent another $3 billion on "agriculture and stabilization programs," but "more land in Afghanistan is under poppy cultivation today than it was when the United States overthrew the Taliban in 2002," Sopko wrote. Poppy cultivation reached a record of 209,000 hectares in 2013 — "more than twice the size of all the boroughs of New York City," Sopko wrote — a 36 percent increase from the previous year, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Q: Can you tell me why Bonefish Grill closed in the new Emory Point development? It seemed a very popular eatery to me.
— Leonard Paskevich, Decatur
A: Bloomin' Brands, the company that owns Bonefish Grill, closed that location "based solely on business circumstances," a spokeswoman told Q&A on the News in an email. She wrote that the Bonefish Grill locations in Alpharetta, the Shoppes at Webb Gin in Snellville and Buford will remain open. The Bonefish Grill at Emory Point opened in December 2012 and closed last month.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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