Opium Is Back in Afghanistan |
The Pulse | Economy | South Asia
Opium Is Back in Afghanistan
The resurgence of opium in Afghanistan is more than a statistical reversal.
The much-hailed ban on drugs by the Taliban since April 2022 notwithstanding, opium production in Afghanistan is again on the rise. The latest findings of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on opium production in Afghanistan are revealing. The era of Taliban success in controlling and diminishing opium production seems to be over. To the contrary, production has jumped fivefold in a year, with a new growing area away from the traditional southwest.
Behind the steep rise are intertwining stories of international demand, desperation and adaptation by poverty-stricken farmers, and the failure not just of the country’s de facto authorities but also of the international community to keep production low.
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The much-hailed ban on drugs by the Taliban since April 2022 notwithstanding, opium production in Afghanistan is again on the rise. The latest findings of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on opium production in Afghanistan are revealing. The era of Taliban success in controlling and diminishing opium production seems to be over. To the contrary, production has jumped fivefold in a year, with a new growing area away from the traditional southwest.
Behind the steep rise are intertwining stories of international demand, desperation and adaptation by poverty-stricken farmers, and the failure not just of the country’s de facto authorities but also of the international community to keep production low.
The latest UNODC report highlighted how, despite claims of........