Among all the challenges facing Afghanistan, the most enduring is its position as the world’s leading producer of opium. Growing, cultivating, and selling the by-products of the indigenous poppy plant is entwined into Afghanistan’s economy & culture. And it has created an opium addiction crisis in Afghanistan. Before the U.S. military left the country, VOA’s Afghan Service traveled from the mountains to the cities, documenting the depth of the situation. Here’s part one in our series Afghanistan’s Addiction Crisis, narrated by Anne Ball.
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