ABSTRACT
Prior to the mid 1970s, opium cultivation in Afghan-Pakistan border region was primarily used to cultural use, traditional medicine, and limited regional recreational use. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan provided military and humanitarian aid to Afghan refugees and enabled the mujahideen to establish and operate some 300 refugee camps in their North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The intensification of opium production in the geographically isolated and rugged region of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border along Pakistan's NWFP was largely attributed to the Soviet-Afghan War and the Iranian Revolution. Operation Mosquito involved supplying drugs to the Soviet military in addition to littering the count with anti-communist propaganda. The chapter illustrates the growth in opium production in Afghanistan coinciding with Operation Enduring Freedom. As with opium cultivation, cannabis cultivation is concentrated in regions of instability. Until Afghan officials take a leadership role in confronting internal smuggling routes, processing havens, and criminal rackets, the country can continue to operate as a narconomy and narco-state.
