Inside the Afghan drug war

Afghanistan's drug economy is as pervasive as its poppy fields, linking impoverished farmers, heroin traffickers, and the Taliban. Photographs by Benjamin Lowy

1 of 14

• Afghanistan's drug czar - the world's toughest job
• Afghanistan's war on drugs

An Afghan boy wanders through a field of poppies. In 2007, Afghan farmers harvested a record 8,200 metric tons of poppies, much of which wound up as opium. What draws farmers to the black market? In some years, poppy farmers earned six times Afghanistan's per capita income.

By Phil Zabriskie

Last updated September 30 2009: 3:43 PM ET

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