AFGHANISTAN. Kabul. December 20, 2004.
The fall of the Taliban regime provoked a massive increase in the production of opium.In 2001,185 tons were produced in Afghanistan climbing to 8,200 tons in 2007.
Afghanistan is the worlds largest supplier of heroin:75% of worldwide consumption.Above and beyond the international repercussions, it is at the local level where the drug does the most damage.The number of addicts rises in tandem with increases in production,a hitherto unheard of problem in Afghanistan.
In a recent report,the UN estimates more than 64,000 people in Kabul,a great majority of whom are women,are dependent on heroin,opium and morphine.There are numerous reasons for addiction: depression,assorted aches and pains,self administered medication with opium and poverty.The return, after the war, of 2.5 million refugees,themselves consumers of narcotics in Iran and Pakistan,have helped spread the addiction.