Tracking the global network of an opiate economy
After seizing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have promised to put an end to opium production, while the country remains the world’s largest illicit opiate supplier after a decade of failed efforts to eradicate its trade. A sincere pledge or empty words?
Before the dust settles in the country, it is still early to speculate about how continuing or ending the opium trade will impact terrorism, the Afghan economy, and the war on drugs in Europe and Russia, the two largest markets for opiates.
With so little progress in eradicating the opium trade achieved over the past 10 years, a Special Feature published by Executive is as relevant today as it was in when it was first published in 2011, and it provides key insights into the issue.
