Afghanistan International: Following the Taliban’s official ban on opium cultivation and trafficking, some Taliban officials and drug smugglers have turned to producing methamphetamine, locally known as shisha, derived from the ephedra plant, known in Afghanistan simply as ephedra. An investigation by Afghanistan International indicates that certain Taliban figures are directly involved in the ephedra trade.
Amu: More than two years after the Taliban’s 2022 ban on narcotics, poppy cultivation levels in Afghanistan remain historically low, but opium continues to be grown, cultivated, and sold in some areas, according to a new report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). SIGAR also noted that while Afghanistan has seen
Tolo News: Iran’s Interior Minister, Eskandar Momeni, claimed that the production of methamphetamine in Afghanistan has increased significantly, which he considers a threat to Iran, the region, and the world. Momeni added that closing the border with Afghanistan is part of an effort aimed at preventing illegal entry and drug trafficking. The Iranian Interior Minister
8am: Recently, Iranian authorities have reported a 20% increase in the production of industrial drugs (methamphetamine) in Afghanistan over the past ten months. Eskandar Momeni, the head of Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters, stated that regarding the Taliban’s claims of reducing drug cultivation and production, “It should not be the case that traditional drugs decrease while
8am: This former parliament member adds that the Taliban, their families, and supporters are currently cultivating opium in large hidden compounds, each containing multiple acres of land, in remote regions in the southwest of the country, keeping it out of the public eye. He mentions that the leadership of this group is involved in the
AP: Afghanistan is the world’s fastest-growing maker of methamphetamine, a report from the United Nations drug agency said Sunday. The country is also a major opium producer and heroin source, even though the Taliban declared a war on narcotics after they returned to power in August 2021. Click here to read more (external link).
Global Initiative: Having long hosted Western Asia’s largest methamphetamine market, Iran for decades has employed an aggressive multi-million-dollar campaign to curb the trade. The discovery, however, of the ephedra plant in neighbouring Afghanistan – a source of ephedrine, a key ingredient for the drug – threatens to undermine Tehran’s efforts. The abundance of cheap meth
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi Abubakar Siddique February 16, 2023 A devastating humanitarian and economic crisis has forced millions of Afghans to find new sources of income. A growing number of them have turned to the booming methamphetamine industry to eke out a living and stave off starvation. Among them is Ahmad Wali, who lives in the
FT: The price of illegal drugs has soared in Afghanistan since the Taliban outlawed the trade in one of the world’s biggest narcotics exporters, according to new data, despite limited evidence that the Islamist militants are enforcing the ban. Opium prices within Afghanistan have risen more than 50 per cent since the Taliban announced the
The Week: It’s been a chaotic nine months since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan — the economy is in a free fall; methamphetamine production has exploded; the United Nations estimates that half of the country’s population is suffering from acute hunger; the rights of women are being eroded; and there’s been an increase in