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Opium is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The word meconium historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also referred to as the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, was an Islamic state established in September 1996, when the Taliban began their governance of Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul. At its peak, the Taliban government controlled approximately 90% of the country, while remaining regions in the northeast were held by the Northern Alliance, which maintained broad international recognition as a continuation of the Islamic State of Afghanistan.
Simon Frederick Peter Halliday was an Irish writer and academic specialising in International Relations and the Middle East, with particular reference to the Cold War, Iran, and the Arabian peninsula.
The Golden Triangle is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name "Golden Triangle"—coined by the CIA—is commonly used more broadly to refer to an area of approximately 950,000 square kilometres (367,000 sq mi) that overlaps the mountains of the three adjacent countries.
Afghanistan has long had a history of opium poppy cultivation and harvest. As of 2021, Afghanistan's harvest produces more than 90% of illicit heroin globally, and more than 95% of the European supply. More land is used for opium in Afghanistan than is used for coca cultivation in Latin America. The country has been the world's leading illicit drug producer since 2001. In 2007, 93% of the non-pharmaceutical-grade opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan. By 2019 Afghanistan still produced about 84% of the world market. This amounts to an export value of about US$4 billion, with a quarter being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug traffickers. In the seven years (1994–2000) prior to a Taliban opium ban, the Afghan farmers' share of gross income from opium was divided among 200,000 families. As of 2017, opium production provides about 400,000 jobs in Afghanistan, more than the Afghan National Security Forces. In addition to opium, Afghanistan is also the world's leading producer of hashish.
Mohammad Daoud was the governor of Helmand in Afghanistan until he was removed from his post for his ties to the opium trade. Daoud was appointed in December 2005, and replaced in December 2006 after the insistence of the British ISAF troops. The U.S. used the warlords to help them hunt Al Qaeda and the Taliban and it is rumored this extended to ignoring their involvement in the production and sale of opium.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1746, adopted unanimously on March 23, 2007, after reaffirming all resolutions on the situation in Afghanistan, including resolutions 1659 (2006) and 1662 (2006), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for an additional period of twelve months, until March 23, 2008.
Opium licensing is a policy instrument used to counter illegal drug cultivation and production. It has been used in countries such as Turkey and India to curb illegal opium production. The main mechanism used under opium licensing is a shift from cultivation and/or production for the illegal market towards legal uses such as the production of essential medicines such as morphine and codeine.
The Afghanistan Compact was the outcome of the London Conference on Afghanistan in 2006. It was the result of consultations of the government of Afghanistan with the United Nations and the international community and established the framework for international cooperation with Afghanistan for the following five years. The Afghanistan Compact is a political commitment of the participants and not an actionable treaty.
This article deals with activities of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency related to transnational crime, including the illicit drug trade.
Crime in Afghanistan is present in various forms, and includes the following: corruption, contract killings or assassinations, bombings, kidnapping, drug trafficking, money laundering, black marketeering, and ordinary crimes such as theft and assault.
Nitin Desai is an Indian economist and international civil servant. He was Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations from 1992 to 2003.
Norine A. MacDonald QC is the President and Founder of RAIN Research Group an international research firm providing the latest on AI and Defense.
The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) is an international think tank that focuses on Afghanistan and other conflict zones such as Iraq and Somalia. ICOS is a project of the Network of European Foundations' The Mercator Fund. The organisation was originally named the Senlis Council but later rebranded as the International Council on Security and Development to better reflect the interest and activities of the organisation.
Mohammed Daud Daud, also known as General Daud Daud, an ethnic Tajik, was the police chief in northern Afghanistan and the commander of the 303 Pamir Corps. He was an opponent of the Afghan Taliban.
Hezb-e Wahdat-e Islami Afghanistan, shortened to Hezb-e Wahdat, is an Afghan political party founded in 1989. Like most contemporary major political parties in Afghanistan, Hezb-e Wahdat is rooted in the turbulent period of the anti-Soviet resistance movements in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It was formed to bring together nine separate and mostly inimical military and ideological groups into a single entity.
LSE IDEAS is a foreign policy think tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science. IDEAS was founded as a think tank for Diplomacy and Strategy in February 2008, succeeding the Cold War Studies Centre founded in 2004. The Chair is Professor Michael Cox and its Directors are Professor Christopher Coker and Professor Christopher Alden. The 2018 and 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index run by the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tank and Civil Societies Program ranked LSE IDEAS as the number one European university-affiliated think tank, and the number two university-affiliated think tank in the world.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1662, adopted unanimously on March 23, 2006, after reaffirming all resolutions on the situation in Afghanistan, including resolutions 1589 (2005) and 1659 (2006), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for an additional period of twelve months.
Gareth Jones is a professor of urban geography in the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics (LSE), and an Associate Fellow at the Institute for the Study of the Americas in the School of Advanced Study at the University of London.
Cannabis in Afghanistan is illegal. It has been cultivated for centuries, and experienced relatively little interference until the 1970s, where after it became an issue both in international politics and in the finance of the series of wars which occurred in Afghanistan for forty years. In 2010, the United Nations reported that Afghanistan was the world's top cannabis producer.
