Published on 17 May 2013, by M. Tomazy.
Afghanistan is the biggest opium (heroin) producer in the entire world.
Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since U.S. occupation started in 2001.
Approx 92% of the non-pharmaceutical grade opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan; an export value of about $4 billion ($1 billion being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug traffickers).
The Taliban, whilst in power, collaborated with the United nations to eradicate 99% of opium cultivation, resulting in a 75% drop in the world’s supply. However, a lack of security and corruption has resulted in the return to the current levels of production.
Former U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Thomas Schweich, claims the U.S. military turns a blind eye to opium production as it’s not central to its anti-terrorism mission.
Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), when sharing his view of the situation said the following: "There is no rule of law in most of the southern parts of Afghanistan—the bullets rule.
However, if there wasn’t any demand in the first place, there probably wouldn’t be any supply to follow.
(Heroin Facts, Effects & Addiction, Abuse Prevention & Education: Foundation for a Drug Free World.)
Source: Iconoclast's Forum
Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since U.S. occupation started in 2001.
Approx 92% of the non-pharmaceutical grade opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan; an export value of about $4 billion ($1 billion being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug traffickers).
The Taliban, whilst in power, collaborated with the United nations to eradicate 99% of opium cultivation, resulting in a 75% drop in the world’s supply. However, a lack of security and corruption has resulted in the return to the current levels of production.
Former U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Thomas Schweich, claims the U.S. military turns a blind eye to opium production as it’s not central to its anti-terrorism mission.
Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), when sharing his view of the situation said the following: "There is no rule of law in most of the southern parts of Afghanistan—the bullets rule.
However, if there wasn’t any demand in the first place, there probably wouldn’t be any supply to follow.
(Heroin Facts, Effects & Addiction, Abuse Prevention & Education: Foundation for a Drug Free World.)
Source: Iconoclast's Forum
