Getting Out of Afghanistan’s Opium Quagmire

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Following a ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan imposed by the de facto authorities, the Taliban, in April 2022, opium production plunged by an estimated 95 percent by 2023 from 6,200 tons in 2022 to 333 tons in 2023. Poppy fields were reduced from 233,000 hectares to 10,800 hectares. However,Continue Reading

The Fraying of the Taliban’s Counternarcotics Efforts

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Good times, as they say, don’t last forever, especially when the achievements have been force-managed.     For nearly three years, a Taliban ban on poppy cultivation has been in place in Afghanistan. In April 2022, eight months after assuming power, the Islamic Emirate announced a ban on all types of narcotics.Continue Reading