Afghanistan: Green Energy Complicates the Taliban’s New Battle against Opium

May 29, 2022 | Bryan Denton, David Zucchino, and Yaqoob Akbary, New York Times
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Now, with the Taliban back in power, the insurgents turned politicians are again struggling to eradicate opium cultivation and the rampant addiction problem that has come with it. The Taliban announced on April 3 that poppy cultivation had been outlawed, with violators to be punished under Shariah law. But stamping out opium will be more difficult than ever because of a shift by poppy farmers to green energy.