Failure to combat the problem of illegal drug trade in Afghanistan

      Despite the fact that almost everyone in the world is familiar to the problem of drug-addiction and knows the consequences of such terrible habit, there is huge growth in the cultivation, production, and consumption of heroin, cannabis, and opium.

     The dominant supplier of most of the world's heroin is Afghanistan. According to the Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2013, the land area used for cultivation of opium in Afghanistan reached a high in 2013 of 516 000, it 's 36% increase from 2012. Moreover, 19 of 34 provinces of the country are opium growers, and production and consumption of increased by almost a half (49%), Opium Survey reports.

    Apart from health problems of global population that illegal drug trafficking eradicates, there are vast area of adverse effects like driving corruption, funding insurgency, stimulating instability in neighboring countries and strengthening addiction crisis.

    Illegal drug trade remains to be the main unifying issue of the international community. International organizations like NATO, and states as Russia and Iran outside this institution amplify their efforts to combat the problem. The United States of America, alone, has spent 6 billions of dollars since 2001 to restrain opium production. However, the number of heroin addicted people keeps to be extremely high. Policies of the USA to eradicate opium crops or to offer subsidies for alternative crops have failed. NATO-led coalition avoids former policy due to high risk of driving farmers over insurgencies, while the latter won't benefit the  local community all along of low prices of alternative corps' products.

    Talibans remains to be the main beneficiaries of illegal drug economy. They encourage opium cultivation and production, opposes policies of eradicating corps in order to gain support from local farmers. Furthermore, they impose 10% tax on the opium production, which sponsors their activites.