The downside to the Taliban’s success in cutting opium production by 90%

In the less than two years since retaking power in Afghanistan, the Taliban has managed to cut opium poppy cultivation by almost 90%. On the surface, it’s a big achievement but it’s left many Afghans without a way to make a living and could cause a negative ripple effect: an increase in the global flow of fentanyl. Marco Werman speaks with Vanda Felbab-Brown, director of The Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors, and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

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