Afghanistan. As Taliban Poppy Ban Continues, Afghan Poverty Deepens KEY TAKEAWAYS The ban on opium cultivation is working but failing to curb exports as landowners liquidate inventories. The ban is unsustainable and could trigger political tensio…

Afghanistan. Afghanistan Completes Opium Crackdown Afghanistan has long been a country rife with opium, an essential ingredient in the popular street drug heroin. During the last several decades, Afghanistan has been the world's leading opium produ…

Afghanistan. The Opium Ban: The impact on small farmers, sharecroppers and labourers in Helmand province In what used to be Afghanistan’s largest poppy-growing province, Helmand, cultivation plummeted by 99 per cent in 2023 following the Islamic Em…

Leaving poppy behind – permanently: how the findings from UNODC’s new Afghan opium survey could affect vulnerable populations  Kabul / Vienna, 3 January 2024 - To many in Afghanistan, poppy has long meant survival.   Decades of conf…

Schweiz. «Dringender Aufruf»: Jetzt soll die staatliche Kokain-Abgabe gegen das Elend der Drogenepidemie helfen Neue Zahlen zeigen, dass die Kokain- und Crack-Flut in der Schweiz einen Höchststand erreicht. Nun wollen die Berater des Bundes Schwers…

Kolumbien/USA. US Congress Cuts Colombia Aid in Half The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill on June 12 that significantly reduces funding for Colombia in the fiscal year 2025. The legislation includes a 50% cut compared to the funds…