Justin Marozzi

Smack in your face

In Afghanistan more provinces than ever are producing opium. Justin Marozzi watches Britain lose its farcical war on drugs

issue 05 June 2004

Kabul

The minister had been stood up. Here we were in Bamiyan, in the heart of Afghanistan with Her Majesty’s drugs-busting minister Bill Rammell, and there was no sign of the Afghan farmer who had reportedly given up growing poppies in favour of dried apricots. He seemed an unlikely enough character in any case.

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