Mexican president says poppy growing being studied

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the government is studying what to do with growers of opium poppies who have been hit by competition from synthetic opioids, suggesting that some sort of legalization scheme might be possible. Studies of legal opium production have circulated in Mexican government circles since before López Obrador took office in December 2018. The president said Mexico “is no longer subjugated to foreign governments” and will choose what most benefits the country. Farmers in remote mountain communities lost income because traffickers are switching to buying fentanyl from Asia, rather than growing and processing heroin.