Afghanistan
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| Afghanistan | |
|---|---|
| افغانستان (Afġānistān) | |
| |
| A hillside village below the mountains | |
| Capital | Kabul |
| Continent | Asia |
| Subregion | West Asia |
| Cannabis Status | |
| Legal Status | Illegal |
| Status Since | 2022 |
| Enforcement | Prohibited by decree since April 2022 |
| Documentation | |
| Growing Regions | 6 |
| Growing Areas | 4 |
| Accessions | 67 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | none documented yet |
Afghanistan is a landlocked country in West Asia. Between 2009 and 2011 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics published three surveys of the country's cannabis cultivation, beginning with the first systematic cannabis survey carried out in Afghanistan.[1]
The 2009 survey put cultivation at between 10,000 and 24,000 hectares and resin yield at 145 kilograms per hectare, against about 40 kg/ha in Morocco, which led its authors to call Afghanistan the world's largest producer of hashish at between 1,500 and 3,500 tonnes a year.[1] The 2011 survey qualified that standing: a large producer of resin is not necessarily the principal supplier of the world's resin markets.[2]
Farmers named 13 varieties to the 2009 survey. One accounted for well over half the crop: Mazari, also called Balkhi after Balkh Province in the north.[1]
Cannabis is prohibited. The decree of 3 April 2022 issued by the de facto authorities banned poppy cultivation and the use, transport, manufacture, trade, export and import of all narcotics (see Legal status).[3]
Geography
Afghanistan is mountainous, dominated by the Hindu Kush, with desert and irrigated valley land to the south and west.[citation needed] Cannabis was grown across much of it: the 2009 survey found cultivation in 17 of the country's 34 provinces; the 2010 survey found it in 19.[1][4]
The 2009 survey found cultivation concentrated in the unstable south and described that as a shift away from the north, which five years earlier had been the main growing region. As illustrative of the trend it gave the steep rise in cannabis prices in Balkh, which it put down to a governor-led crackdown on drug cultivation there since 2007.[1] The Real Seed Company dates the emergence of cultivation in Helmand Province to about 2008, after eradication in Balkh, which it calls the traditional northern centre of charas production.[5]
Demographics
Agriculture
Cannabis is a summer crop in Afghanistan, planted after a winter crop such as wheat or opium poppy and sown afresh each year. It is grown mainly as a mono-crop, but also in mixed patterns and along field boundaries.[1]
On the 2009 figures, gross income per hectare was US$3,900 for cannabis, US$3,600 for opium and US$1,200 for wheat. A hectare of cannabis cost about a third as much to work as a hectare of opium, so net income per hectare was US$3,341 for cannabis, US$2,005 for opium and US$960 for wheat.[1] The two crops were grown by largely the same people: 67 per cent of cannabis farmers also grew opium in 2009, on an average of 0.4 hectares of cannabis per growing household.[1] The 2009 survey estimated 40,000 cannabis-growing households, a figure the 2010 survey raised to 47,000.[1][4]
The 2009 and 2011 surveys measured commercial field cultivation only. Small-scale growing in kitchen gardens, generally for local or personal use, was outside what the survey method could capture.[1][2]
Cannabis in Afghanistan
History
The place of the hashish trade in the formation of the modern Afghan state is the subject of James Bradford's chapter "Smuggler's Paradise: The Hash Trade and Drug Control in the Building of the Afghan State, ca. 1923–1974" in Cannabis: Global Histories.[6]
The Real Seed Company describes Kandahar as a centre of cannabis production long before the era of the Hippie Trail, exporting charas south to what are now Pakistan and India at least as early as the nineteenth century. It states that the city became a stop on that route in the late 1960s, that the Brotherhood of Eternal Love began exporting hashish from there to the United States and that the ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes travelled to the region in 1971 at the Brotherhood's request.[7]
Cultivation
Harvested plants are dried, then threshed and sieved to yield a powder known locally as garda. The process is repeated, each pass yielding a lower grade: first, second and third garda, with a fourth taken by some southern farmers. The powder is then pressed into hashish, which is the traded product.[1]
In 2009 mono-crop cultivation gave 68 kg/ha of first garda, 46 of second and 30 of third, 145 kg/ha in all; in 2010 the same three passes gave 63, 41 and 24, a total of 128 kg/ha.[1][4]
Varieties and genetics
The 2009 survey recorded two distinct forms, one with a pink-red stem and one with a green stem, reporting that the pink-red plant produced higher-quality resin and was in higher demand.[1]
Farmers named 13 varieties. Mazari, known as Balkhi after the northern province, was the most widely grown at 58 per cent of the crop. The rest, in the survey's order, were Watani (7 per cent), Machalghu Shadani (6), Kharwari Shadani (5), Sabz Bang (5), Azraki Shadani (5), Logari Shadani (5), Sreh chars (4), Surkhabi Shadani (2), Bangi Hirati (1), Kandahari (1), unknown (1), Spera Botay (0.5) and Chaghali tokhom (0.2).[1]
Watani was the common variety in Nangarhar and the east, alongside Azraki Shadani, Logari Shadani and Machalghu Shadani, and the centre grew much the same four. The north grew mostly Mazari. The north-east grew Kharwari Shadani, Logari Shadani, Machalghu Shadani and Mazari. The south grew Mazari, Kandahari and Spera Botay, which the survey glosses as Brown Bush. The west grew Azraki Shadani, Bangi Hirati, Sabz Bangi, Kharwari Shadani, Sreh charas and Mazari.[1]
Preparations and consumption
The product of the garda process is hashish, known locally as charas. Part of it is consumed in the country, while the main trade flows follow the opium trafficking routes through hubs in Balkh, Uruzgan and Kandahar.[1]
Trade and commerce
The 2010 survey reported farm-gate prices at the January processing season of US$86 per kilogram for first garda, US$66 for second and US$39 for third, a weighted increase of 93 per cent on the year before.[4]
The 2009 survey put the total farm-gate value of cannabis resin at US$39–94 million, between 0.4 and 0.9 per cent of GDP; the 2010 survey at US$85–263 million, between 0.7 and 2.0 per cent; and the 2011 survey at US$95 million, in a range of US$78–135 million, being 0.6 per cent of licit GDP.[1][4][2] The 2011 survey estimated 12,000 hectares under commercial cultivation and potential production of 1,300 tonnes.[2]
According to the 2009 survey, cultivation, production and trafficking were all taxed by those controlling the territory, a source of revenue for insurgents.[1]
Legal status
Cannabis is prohibited. On 3 April 2022 the de facto authorities issued a decree on the "Prohibition of Poppy Cultivation and All types of Narcotics", which prohibited poppy cultivation and also the use, transportation, manufacture, trade, export and import of all types of narcotics.[3]
UNODC's timeline of drug-related decrees also dates a cannabis ban to 8 March 2023 and states that it "cannot confirm the validity as the decree was issued verbally and circulated to specific de facto authorities only".[3]
After the 2022 decree, opium poppy cultivation fell by 95 per cent in 2023, to 10,800 hectares.[3]
Before 2021 the governing statute was the Counter Narcotics Drug Law of 2005.[better source needed]
Growing Regions
Growing Areas
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Collected | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATA-AFG-BAL-0120060001 | 2006 ATA Mazar-i-Sharif IBL | Balkh | |
| ATA-AFG-HEL-0120240001 | 2024 ATA Lashkar Gah Reproduction | Helmand | |
| Anders 11036 (1973) | Anders 11036 herbarium specimen, Chalas (1973) | ||
| Anders 4869 (1970) | Anders 4869 herbarium specimen, Dab (1970) | ||
| DCC-AFG-HEL-0120160001 | 2016 DCC Afghan Helmand Reproduction | Helmand | |
| HCG-AFG-NAN-0120250001 | Afghanistan Nangarhar 2025 | Nangarhar | |
| Hedge W 9486 (1969) | Hedge and Wendelbo W 9486 herbarium specimen, Yawarzan to Qeshm (1969) | ||
| Hewer 1411 (1969) | Hewer 1411 herbarium specimen, Kamdesh (1969) | ||
| Johnston s.n., Logar (1879) | Johnston herbarium specimen, Logar (1879) | ||
| KHA-AFG-BAL-0120180001 | Balkh Hash Plant 2018 | Balkh | |
| KHA-AFG-BAL-0120180002 | Afghan Lemon 2018 | Balkh | |
| KHA-AFG-JOW-0120180001 | Sheberghan Hash Plant 2018 | ||
| NPG-AFG-BAL-0020230001 | Balkh 'Green / Purple' General Population | Balkh | |
| NPG-AFG-BAL-0020240001 | Chimtal-Balkh General Population | ||
| NPG-AFG-BAL-1120180001 | Balkh 'Long slim bud' General Population 2018 | Balkh | |
| NPG-AFG-BAL-1120180002 | Balkh 'Round bud' General Population 2018 | Balkh | |
| NPG-AFG-BAL-1120180003 | Mazar 'Mixed plants' General Population 2018 | ||
| NPG-AFG-BAL-1120180004 | Sholgara 'Dry buds' General Population 2018 | ||
| NPG-AFG-BAL-1220180001 | Balkh 'Purple bud' General Population 2018 | Balkh | |
| NPG-AFG-BAL-1220180002 | Balkh 'Green bud' General Population 2018 | Balkh | |
| NPG-AFG-GHA-0020200001 | Ghazni General Population 2020 | ||
| NPG-AFG-KAN-0020240001 | Qandahar General Population | ||
| NPG-AFG-NAN-0020240001 | Nangar General Population | ||
| NPG-AFG-NAN-0020240002 | Nangarhar General Population | ||
| NPG-AFG-UNK-0020190001 | Afghan Mix General Population 2019 | ||
| NPG-AFG-UNK-0020230001 | NPG Buzzard's Hawaiian Hashbud IBL | ||
| NPG-AFG-UNK-0020230002 | NPG Deep Chunk IBL | ||
| NPG-AFG-UNK-0020240001 | Dayma-Tashqurghan General Population | ||
| NPG-AFG-UNK-0020240002 | Sholgar General Population | ||
| Neubauer 294 (1949) | Neubauer 294 herbarium specimen, Sombar (1949) | ||
| Podlech 12731 (1965) | Podlech 12731 herbarium specimen, Baharak (1965) | ||
| Podlech 12748 (1965) | Podlech 12748 herbarium specimen, west of Keshem (1965) | ||
| RSC-AFG-BAL-0120060001 | Mazar-i-Sharif General Population 2006 | Balkh | |
| RSC-AFG-BAL-0120180001 | Balkhi General Population 2018 | Balkh | |
| RSC-AFG-BAL-0120190001 | Balkhi General Population 2019 | Balkh | |
| RSC-AFG-BAL-0120220001 | Mazar-i-Sharif #2 General Population 2022 | Balkh | |
| RSC-AFG-BAL-0520070001 | Mazar-i-Sharif General Population 2007 | Balkh | |
| RSC-AFG-BAL-0520070001-R1 | 2007 RSC Mazar-i-Sharif Reproduction | Balkh | |
| RSC-AFG-BAL-1120180001 | Tashkurgan General Population 2018 | Balkh | |
| RSC-AFG-BAL-1120180001-R1 | 2018 RSC Tashkurgan Reproduction | Balkh | |
| RSC-AFG-HEL-0120220001 | Helmand General Population 2022 | Helmand | |
| RSC-AFG-JOW-0120180001 | Sheberghan General Population 2018 | ||
| RSC-AFG-JOW-0120180001-R1 | 2018 RSC Sheberghan Reproduction | ||
| RSC-AFG-KAN-0120190001 | Kandahar General Population 2019 | Kandahar | |
| RSC-AFG-KAN-0120190001-R1 | 2019 RSC Kandahar Reproduction | Kandahar | |
| RSC-AFG-NAN-0120190001 | Tora Bora General Population 2019 | Nangarhar | |
| RSC-AFG-NAN-0120190001-R1 | 2019 RSC Tora Bora Reproduction | Nangarhar | |
| RSC-AFG-NAN-0120220001 | Nangarhar General Population 2022 | Nangarhar | |
| RSC-AFG-PAN-0120220001 | Panjshir General Population 2022 | ||
| Rechinger 32428 (1965) | Rechinger 32428 herbarium specimen, Chigha Sarai to Kandai (1965) | ||
| Rechinger 35587 (1967) | Rechinger 35587 herbarium specimen, Narai Kotal (1967) | ||
| Scheibe 82 (1935) | Scheibe 82 herbarium specimen, Asadabad (1935) | ||
| Schultes 26503 (1971) | Schultes 26503 herbarium specimen, near Kandahar (1971) | ||
| Schultes 26504 (1971) | Schultes 26504 herbarium specimen, near Kandahar (1971) | ||
| Schultes 26505 (1971) | Schultes 26505 herbarium specimen, near Kandahar (1971), epitype of var. afghanica | ||
| Schultes 26508 (1971) | Schultes 26508 herbarium specimen, near Kandahar (1971) | ||
| UMS-AFG-UNK-0019710001 | 1971 UMS Afghanistan af-b Reproduction | ||
| UMS-AFG-UNK-0019710002 | 1971 UMS Afghanistan af-c17 Reproduction | ||
| UMS-AFG-UNK-0019720001 | 1972 UMS Afghanistan Af A Reproduction | ||
| UMS-AFG-UNK-0019720001-R1 | 1972 UMS Afghanistan Af A1 Reproduction | ||
| UMS-AFG-UNK-0019720002 | 1972 UMS Afghanistan Af B Reproduction | ||
| VIB-AFG-KAN-0100000001 | Kandahar General Population | Kandahar | |
| Vavilov s.n., Chekhosarai (1924) | Vavilov herbarium specimen, Chekhosarai (1924), epitype of var. asperrima | ||
| Vavilov s.n., Gui-Akhen (1924) | Vavilov herbarium specimen, Gui-Akhen (1924), neotype of var. afghanica | ||
| Vavilov s.n., Kafiristan (1924) | Vavilov herbarium specimen, Kafiristan (1924), grown at Kamennaya Step in 1925 | ||
| Volk 1068 (1950) | Volk 1068 herbarium specimen, Khost (1950) | ||
| Volk 71/151 (1971) | Volk 71/151 herbarium specimen, Khost (1971) |
Conservation status
Recent news
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; Ministry of Counter Narcotics, Government of Afghanistan (April 2010). Afghanistan Cannabis Survey 2009 (PDF) (Report). UNODC.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; Ministry of Counter Narcotics, Government of Afghanistan (September 2012). Afghanistan: Survey of Commercial Cannabis Cultivation and Production 2011 (PDF) (Report). UNODC.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (November 2023). Afghanistan Opium Survey 2023 (PDF) (Report). UNODC.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; Ministry of Counter Narcotics, Government of Afghanistan (June 2011). Afghanistan Cannabis Survey 2010 (PDF) (Report). UNODC.
- ↑ "Helmand". The Real Seed Company. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- ↑ Richert, Lucas; Mills, James H., eds. (2021). Cannabis: Global Histories. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. doi:10.7551/mitpress/12102.001.0001. ISBN 9780262045209.
- ↑ "Kandahar". The Real Seed Company. Retrieved 24 September 2026.