The Taliban Poppy Ban Project

In April 2022, the Taliban imposed a blanket ban on all poppy and ephedra cultivation inside Afghanistan to crack down on drug production and blunt the country’s reputation as the world’s top heroin producer and emerging hub for methamphetamines manufacturing. As it seeks diplomatic recognition, the Taliban has touted this effort as a key initiative to gain credibility with key international actors. 

The ban has, largely, been effective. Afghanistan—once the source of 90% of the world’s heroin supply—has experienced a near-total reduction in poppy cultivation. The cultivation of ephedra, similarly, has steadily declined. This policy has heavily impacted Afghanistan’s agricultural sector, with wheat crop replacement strategies failing to address rising poverty rates and economic pressures within rural areas. 

However, the reverberations of this policy have affected international markets. As heroin and methamphetamine destination markets abroad, such as the European Union and Middle East, have braced for a supply shortage imposed by the Taliban’s ban, the space for alternative, new synthetic drugs have opened for criminal actors to fill—a development that creates new challenges for law enforcement and public health. 

The Taliban Poppy Ban Project seeks to generate new actionable intelligence and analyses about how the Taliban’s ban on poppy and ephedra has impacted local and international drug markets, security, and public health. Through its programming and written publications, the project seeks to generate thought-provoking research and analysis about the Taliban poppy and ephedra ban’s geopolitical, law enforcement, and security implications, as well as identify creative, effective policy solutions.

The Taliban Poppy Ban Project was created and is led by Caroline Rose and is part of the Crime-Conflict Nexus Portfolio.