U.S.: Afghan poppies to be sprayed with herbicide

The top U.S. anti-drug official said that Afghan poppies would be sprayed with herbicide to combat an opium trade that produced a record heroin haul this year, a measure likely to anger farmers and scare Afghans unfamiliar with weed killers.

John Walters, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, said Saturday that Afghanistan could turn into a narco-state unless "giant steps" are made toward eliminating poppy cultivation.