Blog Topic #7- Opium

Opium production in Afghanistan is a very big issue around the world, and even more so for the U.S. military. This is because the majority of the money that comes from the selling of this opium directly funds the Taliban. Which is who the U.S. is at war with right now. In 2000, Afghanistan produced around 4,000 tons of Opium which was estimated to be around 75% of the worlds supply.

What is Opium? Opium is the milky substance that is drained from the Opium Poppy plant, which is then made into heroin and sold around the world. 

Opium Poppy with "milk" running from a cut

During the Taliban's rule of Afghanistan, there was the largest recorded production of Opium in 1999 with 4,500 tons. Then in the summer of 2000, the Taliban ruler Mullah Mohammed Omar, began to work with the UN to rid Afghanistan of Opium. This resulted in a 91% reduction in Opium cultivation but lasted very shortly.   The collapse of the economy in fall 2001, led to Afghan farmers to resort back to opium production to support their families. After Hamid Karzai became president in 2004, the next years had record productions of opium. As many Afghan farmers want their government to turn a blind eye to the opium production, the government has done so. Without the Afghan government enforcing that their be no opium production I see no end to the production in Afghanistan. This also means that there will be little hope of ending the funding to the Taliban and Al Qaeda organizations.

http://opioids.com/afghanistan/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan