Overview

'Afghanistan is seen as a major drug producer, but its own people are becoming the victims. ... David Macdonald not only explores [the reasons for this] but also tells an addictive tale that is difficult to resist.' Shirazuddin Siddiqi, BBC 'This stunning book provides a first hand account of the Afghan drug problem. David Macdonald has written the definitive text on drugs in Afghanistan.' Professor Gerry Stimson, Executive Director, International Harm Reduction Association 'David Macdonald tells a story about the diversity of drug use in Afghanistan that no one has ever told before.' Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance, New York Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium and heroin. This book explores the devastating impact that the drugs trade has had on the Afghan people. Author David Macdonald has worked as a drugs advisor to the UN. Based on his extensive experience, this book breaks down the myths surrounding the cultivation and consumption of drugs, providing a detailed analysis of the history of drug use within the country. He examines the impact of over 25 years of continuous conflict, and shows how poverty and instability has led to an increase in drugs consumption. He also considers the recent rise in the use of pharmaceutical drugs, resulting in dangerous chemical cocktails and analyses the effect of Afghanistan's drug trade on neighbouring countries.

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9780745326177

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Reviews

In recent years Afghanistan has been seen as a major drug producer, but what has not been seen is what makes it so and how much its own people are becoming the victims. Drugs has given Afghanistan a bad image internationally. ... In this book David Macdonald not only explores these undercurrents thoroughly but also tells an addictive tale that is difficult to resist. -- Shirazuddin Siddiqi, BBC This stunning book provides ... detailed insights into drug production, set in the context of the country's history, its economic, social and cultural position, and the turmoil it has been through in recent decades. ... This book is essential reading for all those who wish to be informed about the situation there. ... Afghanistan ... may move in a decade from misery to poverty. -- Professor Gerry Stimson, Executive Director, International Harm Reduction Association David Macdonald is a rare hybrid of investigative journalist and cross-cultural anthropologist with a nose for drugs and an intrepid curiosity about Afghanistan. He tells a story about the diversity of drug use in Afghanistan that no one has ever told before. In so doing, he reveals a side to that troubled land that few know, and even fewer understand. But he is also wise enough to appreciate that the phenomenon he describes is unique to Afghanistan only in its particulars, and that the horrors, delights and simple utilities of drugs are truly universal. -- Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance, New York

'Afghanistan is seen as a major drug producer, but its own people are becoming the victims. ... David Macdonald not only explores [the reasons for this] but also tells an addictive tale that is difficult to resist.' --Shirazuddin Siddiqi, BBC 'This stunning book provides a first hand account of the Afghan drug problem. David Macdonald has written the definitive text on drugs in Afghanistan.' --Professor Gerry Stimson, Executive Director, International Harm Reduction Association 'David Macdonald tells a story about the diversity of drug use in Afghanistan that no one has ever told before.' --Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance, New York

'Afghanistan is seen as a major drug producer, but its own people are becoming the victims. ... David Macdonald not only explores [the reasons for this] but also tells an addictive tale that is difficult to resist.' --Shirazuddin Siddiqi, BBC  'This stunning book provides a first hand account of the Afghan drug problem. David Macdonald has written the definitive text on drugs in Afghanistan.' --Professor Gerry Stimson, Executive Director, International Harm Reduction Association  'David Macdonald tells a story about the diversity of drug use in Afghanistan that no one has ever told before.' --Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance, New York

Author Information

David Macdonald is a sociologist who has specialised in drug control for over 20 years. Since 1999 he worked as the demand reduction advisor for the UN drugs control programme in Afghanistan with UNODC and also with the Ministry of Counter Narcotics in Kabul. He is the author of Drugs in Afghanistan (Pluto, 2007).

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