In February 1793, British ambassador to China, George Macartney, embarked on a mission to open China for trade, driven by Britain's insatiable thirst for Chinese tea. Yet, it wasn't tea but the potent lure of opium, harvested from the poppy plant, that would come to shape global trade and politics.
UN also said in its report that Afghanistan is home to an estimated 3.5 million drug users, which account for nearly 10 per cent of the total population.
In a statement, the United Kingdom-based Cranfield University, on Monday, said that their researchers are helping the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) powered program that would monitor the crops used for illicit opium production in Afghanistan. According to the university, their AI would interpret data from satellites to track where the poppy cultivation, used for drug production, takes place.
From the world s most impoverished corners to high-end clubs where opium and the drugs it produces is consumed; the supplies mostly come from one place unimaginable, Afghanistan. Now, the rulers want it gone.
Opium poppy cultivation and harvesting have long been a part of Afghanistan's history.
By 2021, Afghanistan's harvest will account for more than 90% of worldwide illegal heroin production and more than 95% of European supply.
In Afghanistan, opium growing takes up more territory than coca cultivation in Latin America.
Since 2001, the country has been the world's biggest illicit drug producer.