Dakota Bailey

3/19/22

International Connections Paper #1

The majority of opium poppy is mostly produced in Afghanistan; so much that 90 percent of illicit heroin is
globally grown there. Over time this has brought job opportunities, but there will always be a struggle for
the farmers. Poppy has cultivated itself to the country, so much that Afghanistan is pretty known for it.
Since it’s an important ingredient to make the illicit drug, The government is trying to control it, just like
the same way others tries to control the making of coca in South America. You can destroy the crops, but
they’ll keep coming back. Especially the labs that are discovered and are destroyed, but the same thing will
happen again. When a farmer who is only growing poppy to make a living and once it gets destroyed, they
would become indebted by the people that wanted them to grow it in the first place. If a farm is successful
and is not destroyed, large amounts of the money will go to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug
traffickers. From a document in module 2, the farmers would have a credit with stores for supplies to get by
through winter to survive if the crops don’t work out or if it’s been destroyed. Showing us that the
disadvantages and unfairness to farmers is something that shows up in any part of the world when it
comes to needing to do it to get by.

The farmer's struggle wouldn’t stop there, because the Taliban would also take most of the income of the
profit that the drug will make, and they would function like a drug cartel. There is no way they could do
anything about it, and they would have what’s given to them at the end of the day.

Since this is the place that makes the majority of heroin, this would also affect the communities as well in
the country. There are homeless Afghans who are addicted and would sometimes gather underneath
bridges for shelter. The Taliban are involved with forcibly taking these people to treatment centers to avoid
any visible casualties in harsh winter conditions. But at these locations would have 2 or 3 times the
capacity that it can originally take, having too much people there to fully assist. Some are also run by
private charities, but the struggle is harsh, for those who gather under the bridge would still keep taking
drugs. It’s not a good site to see, but this had harshly effected the people since it’s a place that produces
the global majority of heroin.