Smoke and mirrors: Afghanistan’s illicit drug economy after the opium ban

In 2022, Afghanistan accounted for roughly 80 per cent of the world’s opiate supply and was a major global exporter of opium and heroin. But in April that year, the newly installed Taliban regime announced a ban on poppy cultivation and all types of narcotics, leading to plummeting levels of production. Immediately following the ban, international observers predicted a total disruption of global heroin supply chains, and questions were raised about the ban’s sustainability, its impact on the Afghan population and its effect on Afghanistan’s growing methamphetamine production. With the ban soon to enter its fourth year, it is time to take stock of the real impact it is having on Afghanistan’s illicit drug economy. 

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