Golden Crescent

The Golden Crescent refers to a geographical area in southwest Asia encompassing portions of Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. The region's poppy fields are among the world's top suppliers of opium, rivaled only by those of the Golden Triangle region in southeast Asia and, to a lesser extent, Latin American countries such as Colombia and Mexico (which are significant suppliers to the United States).

The region is also a major supplier of cannabis, which is cultivated primarily in Afghanistan but is processed in remote regions of Pakistan to be trafficked throughout the region for eventual export.

[Page 318]It was estimated that by 2009, Afghanistan had emerged as the world's largest hashish producer.

It has been estimated that by 2007, Afghanistan had become the supplier of 90 percent of the world's opium; Afghan opium (which is primarily grown in the southern part of the country, near its border with Pakistan) yielded close to 90 percent of the heroin sold in western Europe and over half of that sold in the United States. Afghanistan's economy relies heavily on opium production, as it comprises roughly one-third of the country's gross national product. The political, economic, and social instability of the region have contributed to its emergence as a major opium producer. Pakistan is also a significant opium supplier (albeit in volumes estimated to be one-fiftieth of that produced by Afghanistan) as well as consumer; it is estimated to represent the largest consumer market of heroin in southwest Asia. Iran was a major opium producer until the shah banned all cultivation and consumption in 1955 (thus triggering an increase in production in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as contributing to the emergence of the Golden Triangle region as a source of opium). Iran's remaining poppy crop was largely obliterated after the 1979 Islamic revolution, although supply was not completely eliminated and isolated poppy fields that remain in remote locations have been targeted by Iranian law enforcement. Iran, however, plays a significant role in the region's drug trade, as the country is not only used by traffickers as a conduit to smuggle drugs into Europe, but Iranians are themselves substantial consumers of the Afghan opium, with opiate addiction rates among the highest in the world.

Opium and Cannabis Cultivation

The Golden Crescent region possesses soil, climate, and terrain that are ideal for opium production.

Opium poppy fields in Afghanistan's Bala Baluk district on April 15, 2009. While Afghan National Security Forces attempt to destroy many such crops before harvest, in 2008 almost 10 percent of the Afghan population were employed in poppy farming.

[Page 319]Shallow incisions are made in the ripening pods of poppy plants to allow the release of a raw opium gum; after it dries, the gum transforms into a brown resin that can be converted into a morphine base in makeshift field labs close to where it is harvested. The morphine base can be smoked, prepared for other means of ingestion, or transported to be converted into heroin at labs elsewhere. Opium is generally far more profitable for farmers than other traditional means of sustenance such as wheat or livestock. The product commands prices a hundred times greater than an equal amount of fruit or vegetables; one estimate from an examination of opium cultivation in Afghanistan found growers can earn a net income of $2,000 a year. The financial rewards associated with opium cultivation attract a significant number of Afghans, with as many as 9.8 percent of the population involved in poppy farming as of 2008 (although the numbers have fluctuated since).

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