Opium

Taliban chief orders ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan; violators' crops to be destroyed

Afghanistan has a near monopoly on opium and heroin, accounting for 80 to 90 per cent of global output, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

To the west of India, a great empire of opium is rising. New Delhi needs to act, fast

The climax of the Afghan heroin story could now be approaching: cut off from the international financial system, the economy in ruins, and millions on the edge of starvation, the thick-white milk lanced from the poppy-plant is the closest thing the Taliban have to gold

Taliban return in Afghanistan continues Hazara history of persecution

The Hazara’s roots in South Asia go back centuries. Their ancestors are said to include Mongol troops, and recent genetic analysis has confirmed partial Mongol ancestry

Will Afghanistan's poppy empire blossom under the Taliban rule?

In 2020, the area under opium cultivation expanded to 2,24,000 hectares from 1,63,000 hectares - overwhelmingly in areas under the group’s control

Opium cultivation in Arunachal Pradesh: Tracing impact of tradition and trafficking

The first case against illegal opium cultivators in Arunachal Pradesh signals a new crackdown on the social evil that has destroyed vast areas of forest, and many lives, in this global biodiversity hotspot

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh calls for national policy to curb 'drug menace' after Navjot Sidhu's remarks on legalising opium

Congress leader and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday created a new controversy by calling for the legalisation of opium in the state.

Navjot Singh Sidhu supports demand for legalising opium in Punjab; Amarinder Singh hopes drug matter will be resolved

Amarinder Singh reacted to Navjot Singh Sidhu's remark and hoped that this matter would be resolved once and for all.

India among 21 countries Donald Trump identifies as ‘major’ hubs of illegal production, transit of drugs

US President Donald Trump has identified India along with 21 other countries as among the major illicit drug producing or transit nations.

PMO asks home ministry, NCB to map sources of iIllicit drugs to end menace before addiction becomes endemic

Sources told Firstpost that Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted that entire country should be mapped for the availability of illicit drugs and main centres of activity should be identified so that specific strategies could be put in place to address this serious issues.

'Udta Punjab' needs a decisive war on drugs; governments, parties need to stop using crisis as a poll plank

It is suspected that the menace of drugs in Punjab spread in the state because of support from local leaders and officials.