History of opium

History of opium - longer version

Introduced to Afghanistan by Alexander the Great opium has been grown for centuries and has been widely used as a medicine and for enjoyment. It is grown together with other crops for domestic consumption or sale. Production for export to Iran picked up in the early 20th century reaching 75 tons in 1932, and accelerated after Iran and Pakistan prohibited production in 1979. Following the Soviet invasion opium became the staple of the rural economy, reaching 3,276 tons in 2000. The US led invasion an provided a further stimulus and by 2007 some 193,000 hectares were cultivated with opium