It seems like at least some of the U.S. heroin supply was coming from Afghanistan, but as of 2026 synthetic opiates dominate the market. When the U.S. was intentionally interfering in Afghanistan’s opium trade, the production surged, and when the Taliban took control again it dwindled.
Heroin consumed in the US comes mainly from Afghanistan and Mexico, members of the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said in Mexico City on Wednesday, March 2.
INCB’s 2015 report also revealed that exporters of the vast amount of opium planted in Afghanistan have their eyes set on distribution in the US’s growing market, similar to heroin trafficked from Mexico.
“In different parts of the United States there has been a resurgence in the consumption of heroin, and Afghan heroin has an enormous production. They have more than 200,000 hectares dedicated to the production of heroin in Afghanistan,” Alejandro Mohar, a member of the INCB, told a news conference
“It has been reported earlier that the CIA is involved in Afghanistan’s opium production, or is at least protecting it.” One Russian journalist quoted anonymous Afghan officials as saying, “85 per cent of all drugs produced in southern and southeastern provinces are shipped abroad by U.S. aviation.”
There are soldiers who can describe standing guard over growing poppies. Americans heard the old saying about left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing and decided to add modern weapons to the mix.
Most of the usa heroin supply is made from poppies grown in south America. The Afghanistan stuff goes to the rest of the world
It seems like at least some of the U.S. heroin supply was coming from Afghanistan, but as of 2026 synthetic opiates dominate the market. When the U.S. was intentionally interfering in Afghanistan’s opium trade, the production surged, and when the Taliban took control again it dwindled.
•2016: Here’s where America’s heroin comes from
•A campaign by the Taliban launched in 2000 to reduce poppy production yielded some results, but ended with the US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Poppy and heroin production subsequently continued to increase; the United States and its NATO allies in Afghanistan were at times reluctant to mingle the military campaign against the Taliban with what was viewed as a law enforcement operation in attacking elements of the drug trade, and efforts as part of the broader war on drugs proved unsuccessful. Allegations were also made—and denied—that senior officials in the US-backed Afghan government or close relatives were involved in the heroin trade. After regaining power in August 2021, the Taliban vowed to crack down on poppy cultivation and narcotics production once again and in April 2022 banned poppy cultivation throughout the country.
•2008: Afghan Heroin & the CIA
There are soldiers who can describe standing guard over growing poppies. Americans heard the old saying about left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing and decided to add modern weapons to the mix.