Tajikistan Resists Drug Trafficking From Afghanistan

Drug trafficking from Afghanistan affects the entire globe. Think about how it would be if you had a neighbor that came over and brought things over to your house that you really didn't want. Every time you turned your back, they left something else on your doorstep.....like an ugly plant, an invitation to dinner (they're weird, so you don't wanna come over), etc. Well, this is somewhat the situation with Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan and Tajikistan are neighbors, but Tajikistan always has to deal with the problem of drug trafficking from Afghanistan. For a while, Russian trooops were guarding the Tajik-Afghan border. Recently, the responsibility has been turned over to Tajik troops. With the cracking down on security at the border, only 15 percent of drugs from Afghanistan make it across the border. Not only has the trafficking problem plagued Tajikistan, but it has also been a problem with other surrounding countries such as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

I feel that if security measures are taken to control drug trafficking at all of the countries surrounding Afghanistan, then the distribution of drugs around the globe will be dropped tremendously. The drugs that come from Afghanisn account for about 90 percent of the drugs distributed throughout the world. With the conscious effort of these countries, not only can they reduce the drug trade within their own countries, but also in countries throughout the world. With any problem, thinking on a collective prevention level helps to make a greater impact and a better chance for change. In this case, if these countries don't all make a decision to step up and control this problem, then the problem internationally will be exacerbated. The production of poppies in Afghanistan is on the rise, and since the crop is more valuable than other crops, this is the main crop in Afghanistan. So we have this problem that is created, but all that is needed to solve the problem is collective thinking. If drug trafficking is controlled, I hypothesize that the demand for poppies will go down, and the production of the crop will eventually decrease.

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