If poppies can grow all over the world, why is it that opium production is so heavily concentrated in Afghanistan?

Question

If poppies can grow all over the world, why is it that opium production is so heavily concentrated in Afghanistan?

In: 8505

Answer 1

There’s a 464 page book called The Politics of Heroin that will take you up through the Vietnam War and a link on the Wikipedia page that will further take you to Afghanistan
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Politics_of_Heroin_in_Southeast_Asia

The ELI5 TLDR is that Opium and it’s forms finance and fuel war.
The morphine helps the soldiers, the profits pay for the war. The addicts are the customers. The traffickers deal in both Opium and Arms.

The book itself has a fascinating history surrounding its publication and exposé of drug trafficking.