Rebuffing months of U.S. pressure, Karzai decided against a Colombia-style program to spray this country’s opium fields after the Cabinet worried that herbicide would hurt legitimate crops, animals and people.

In rejecting the spraying plan, top Cabinet members feared a violent backlash from rural Afghans. U.S. officials have said the herbicide in question-glyphosate, sold as Roundup in the United States-is safe. It would have been applied by ground spraying rather than planes.

Several studies have raised questions about using glyphosate near rivers, streams and aquatic organisms. A few studies have linked it to problems in pregnant women.

Karzai’s decision capped months of behind-the-scenes pressure to allow spraying like that used in countries such as Colombia, where coca plants supply much of world’s cocaine.