Afghanistan, that most exotic of battlegrounds, is known for its fierce Islamic fighters, the Taliban, but internationally even more for the production of opium. According to reports of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), about 90% of the world’s heroin now comes from Afghanistan and Helmand province accounts for one-half to nearly two-thirds of that production. Nationwide approximately 2.3 million people are involved in poppy cultivation and processing, a tenth of the population.
