Afghanistan

Golden Crescent

The Golden Crescent is the name given to Asia's principal area of opium production. This area spans three different countries—Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. The geography of this region suggested the name, with the mountainous peripheries forming the boundaries of the golden crescent. In this area, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the sole producers of opium, with Iran being a transnational transporter for the smuggled opiates. In 1991 Afghanistan became the world's leading opium producer. The Golden Crescent's rise to dominance came from government-imposed eradication and poor growing seasons in Myanmar, which historically had been the primary source of opium. The Golden Crescent's history is short; emerging in the 1970s as an opium production entity, it came to surpass the more well-known Golden Triangle of southeast Asia that began producing large amounts of opium during the 1950s. Due to domestic political instability, and the demand in surrounding regions, Afghanistan now produces 90 percent of the world's opium. In addition, Afghanistan is also the largest producer of hashish, more commonly known as hash, which is a form of cannabis containing the same active ingredients, but in a higher concentration.

This Drug Enforcement Administration photo shows Afghan troops and DEA special agents (whose identities have been obscured) destroying bunkers filled with 262 tons of hashish during a joint operation in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, in June 2008.

Afghanistan's Opium Production

[Page 5]Afghanistan has a long history of producing opium poppies. The cultivation of poppies grew beginning in 1979, when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) invaded Afghanistan. As a result of this struggle, the Afghan government was able to exercise less control over its provinces. This decreased central government authority resulted in the growing strength of various warlords who roamed the provinces. As the warlords sought money necessary to purchase weapons to resist the Soviet-funded government troops, opium production increased as a means to finance the resistance. The United States opposed Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and provided military and other support to insurgents opposed to the Soviet-supported Afghan government. As part of its support of anti-Soviet operations, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was alleged to have participated in the smuggling of opium to assist the warlords to gain needed funds.

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