Turkey

Turkey, located partially in southeastern Europe and partially in southwestern Asia, borders the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Armenia, Azerbaijan, [Page 782]and Iran to the east, Iraq and Syria to the south, Georgia to the northeast, and Bulgaria and Greece to the northwest. Once a major producer of illicit opium and heroin, the government now maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation. Although Turkey is no longer a major producer of illegal drugs, imported morphine base is still converted to heroin in remote regions, and Turkey remains a key transit route for southwest Asian heroin to western Europe and, to a lesser extent, the United States. Rates of drug use in Turkey are low ...