Read now - not behind a paywall (for now) @financialtimes.com report based on reporting by mansfieldintinc.bsky.social & alcis.org #OpiumEconomy #Pakistan #Afghanistan #DrugPolicy on.ft.com/47JdlGu

@financialtimes.com builds on @mansfieldintinc.bsky.social & @alcis.org reporting & not behind a paywall – read while you can! Covered by 10 other media outlets including: @thetelegraph.bsky.social & @dailyexpressnews.bsky.social #OpiumEconomy #Pakistan #Afghanistan #DrugPolicy on.ft.com/47JdlGu

Poppy cultivation figures from @alcis.org for 2025 covering 6 provinces that were responsible for 80% of cultivation in 2022. Shows increase but not as dramatic as rumoured. Highlights the importance of genuinely mixed methods for generating robust evidence base for policy making

1. Rumours of a dramatic upturn in poppy cultivation in Southwest Afghanistan have not been borne out in 2025 as shown in the latest @alcis.org blog www.alcis.org/post/opiate-...

Patterns of poppy cultivation varied across Helmand province this year. @mansfieldintinc.bsky.social explains in this article (www.alcis.org/post/opiate-...) that in accessible areas, poppy fields remained small & isolated. In remote areas, poppy fields were visible from the road & more contiguous.

Mahmoud Khalil reunites with family after more than 100 days in Ice detention

An important and timely update from @mansfieldintinc.bsky.social on the significant ongoing impacts of the Taliban's drugs ban across Afghanistan & the region. You won't find this level and quality of analysis anywhere else. www.alcis.org/post/opiate-...

Update on the Taliban's drug ban from @mansfieldintinc.bsky.social, looking at factors for continued opiate supplies; inventories in southwest Afghanistan, cultivation in Badakhshan, improved processing techniques, & increases in poppy cultivation in Pakistan in 2025. www.alcis.org/post/opiate-...

1/4 Blog @lawfaremedia.org with @alcis.org funded by @XCEPT It focuses on the transformative effects of solar power: how it has supported Afghan farmers cope with climate change but ultimately how its expansion now threatens the livelihoods of 3.65 million people www.lawfaremedia.org/article/unde...

1. With the ephedra season now drawn to a close & the poppy planting season in full swing, it is an ideal time to assess the impact of the Taliban drug ban on the methamphetamine & opium industries, & the implications for the rural economy, & the political stability of Afghanistan.