Editing Opium (section)

=== Illegal production ===
{{See also|Opium production in Afghanistan|Illegal drug trade}}
[[File:Drugroutemap.gif|thumb|right|International drug routes]]
[[File:Opium poppies in Helmand -a.jpg|thumb|right|Afghanistan, [[Helmand province]]. A [[United States Marines|Marine]] greets local children working in the field of opium poppies near the base.]]

[[opium production in Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] was formerly the primary producer of the drug. Having regularly producing 70 percent of the world's opium, Afghanistan decreased production to 74 tons per year under a ban by the [[Taliban]] in 2000, a move which cut production by 94 percent. A year later, after American and British troops [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|invaded Afghanistan]], removed the Taliban and installed the interim government, the land under cultivation leapt back to {{convert|285|sqmi|km2}}, with Afghanistan supplanting Burma to become the world's largest opium producer once more. Opium production increased rapidly in Afghanistan from that point,<ref>{{cite news|author=Paul Harris in Peshawar |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,605618,00.html |title=Victorious warlords set to open the opium floodgates |publisher=Observer.guardian.co.uk |date= November 25, 2001|access-date=March 21, 2010 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/pdf/research/wdr07/WDR_2007_3.1.1_afghanistan.pdf |title=UN World Drug Report 2007 – Afghanistan |access-date=March 21, 2010}}</ref> reaching an all-time high in 2006. According to [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] statistics, Afghanistan's production of oven-dried opium increased to 1,278 tons in 2002, more than doubled by 2003, and nearly doubled again during 2004. In late 2004, the U.S. government estimated that 206,000 hectares were under poppy cultivation, 4.5 percent of the country's total cropland, and produced 4,200 metric tons of opium, 76 percent of the world's supply, yielding 60 percent of Afghanistan's gross domestic product.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/afghanistan/weeklyreports/022405_report.html|title=Rebuilding Afghanistan: Weekly Activity Update|date=February 24, 2005|access-date=May 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509070349/http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/afghanistan/weeklyreports/022405_report.html|archive-date=May 9, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2006, the [[UN Office on Drugs and Crime]] estimated production to have risen 59 percent to {{convert|407000|acre|ha|order=flip}} in cultivation, yielding 6,100 tons of opium, 82 percent of the world's supply.<ref>{{cite news|author=BBC News|date=August 2, 2006|title=UN warns of soaring Afghan opium |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5308180.stm|access-date=June 6, 2007}}</ref> The value of the resulting heroin was estimated at {{US$|3.5{{nbsp}}billion}}, of which Afghan farmers were estimated to have received {{US$|700{{nbsp}}million}} in revenue. For farmers, the crop can be up to ten times more profitable than wheat. The price of opium is around {{US$|138}} per kilo. Opium production has led to rising tensions in Afghan villages. Though direct conflict has yet to occur, the opinions of the new class of young rich men involved in the opium trade are at odds with those of the traditional village leaders.<ref name="Goodhand-2000">{{cite journal | last1 = Goodhand|first1= Jonathan | year = 2000 | title = From holy war to opium war? A case study of the opium economy in North Eastern Afghanistan | journal = Central Asian Survey | volume = 19 | issue = 2| pages = 265–280 | doi=10.1080/02634930050079354|pmid= 18348361 |s2cid= 2591603 }}</ref>
[[File:Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation 1994-2007b.PNG|thumb|left|Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation, 1994–2016 (hectares)]]
An increasingly large fraction of opium is processed into morphine base and heroin in drug labs in Afghanistan. Despite an international set of chemical controls designed to restrict availability of [[acetic anhydride]], it enters the country, perhaps through its Central Asian neighbors which do not participate. A counternarcotics law passed in December 2005 requires Afghanistan to develop registries or regulations for tracking, storing, and owning acetic anhydride.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2006/vol1/html/62105.htm |title=International Narcotics Control Strategy Report: Chemical controls |access-date=May 11, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In November 2023, a U.N report showed that in the entirety of Afghanistan, poppy cultivation dropped by over 95%, removing it from its place as being the world's largest opium producer.<ref name="aljazeera.com"/><ref name="news.un.org"/>

Besides Afghanistan, smaller quantities of opium are produced in Pakistan, the [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]] region of Southeast Asia (particularly [[Burma]]), Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico.

[[File:opiumball.jpg|thumb|{{convert|200|g|abbr=on}} Spanish opium ball]]
Chinese production mainly trades with and profits from North America. In 2002, they were seeking to expand through eastern United States. In the post 9/11 era, trading between borders became difficult and because new international laws were set into place, the opium trade became more diffused. Power shifted from remote to high-end smugglers and opium traders. Outsourcing became a huge factor for survival for many smugglers and opium farmers.<ref>Brzezinski, Matthew. "Re-Engineering the Drug Business". ''The New York Times Magazine'', June 23, 2002</ref>

In 2023 [[Myanmar|Burma]] overtook [[Afghanistan]] and became the world's largest producer of opium, producing 1080 metric tones according the [[United Nations|UN]] Southeast Asia Opium Survey report.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNODC |url=https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2023/Southeast_Asia_Opium_Survey_2023.pdf |access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref>