Opium nation 2.0

Many believe that the war in Afghanistan was essentially an "opium war"

In her 2011 book, Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords, and One Woman’s Journey Through Afghanistan, Afghan-American journalist Fariba Nawa revealed the characteristics of the drug trade that rules Afghanistan. As Nawa pointed out, 60 per cent of Afghanistan’s GDP comes from opium — an industry worth $4 billion inside the country, but worth an estimated $65 billion outside its borders. It’s “an all-encompassing market that directly affects the daily lives of Afghans in a way that nothing else does.” Many families depend on the opium enterprise, working as cultivators, refiners, or smugglers, and a culture of “opium brides” has