This spring, I traveled to Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, and witnessed what would be the largest opium harvest in Afghan history. Over the past decade, in the midst of a massive international military and development mission, the drug economy in Afghanistan has flourished. Today, the country produces twice as much opium as it did in 2000. How the heck did that happen? In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, I take you inside the making of the Afghan narco state:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/afghanistan-the-making-of-a-narco-state-20141204?
Photograph by Victor J. Blue