Drug users could switch to more dangerous synthetic opioids as heroin supply dries up.
The Taliban have imposed a ban on poppy cultivation that will take effect in the coming weeks | Mohsen Karimi/AFP via Getty Images
Europe’s heroin market could soon be in for a supply shock, and experts fear the gap could be filled by something much worse.
Almost all heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghanistan, where the Taliban have imposed a ban on poppy cultivation that will take effect in the coming weeks.
The likely poppy shortage could make it more profitable for criminals to manufacture synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, to be sold to desperate addicts denied their hit of heroin.
That in turn presents a serious public health risk, as synthetic opioids tend to be much stronger than natural heroin — 50 times stronger in the case of fentanyl. That means it’s much easier to overdose: fentanyl claims tens of thousands of lives in America each year.
Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/taliban-afghanistan-europe-fentanyl-drugs-health-care-opium-alert/
The Taliban have imposed a ban on poppy cultivation that will take effect in the coming weeks | Mohsen Karimi/AFP via Getty Images
Europe’s heroin market could soon be in for a supply shock, and experts fear the gap could be filled by something much worse.
Almost all heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghanistan, where the Taliban have imposed a ban on poppy cultivation that will take effect in the coming weeks.
The likely poppy shortage could make it more profitable for criminals to manufacture synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, to be sold to desperate addicts denied their hit of heroin.
That in turn presents a serious public health risk, as synthetic opioids tend to be much stronger than natural heroin — 50 times stronger in the case of fentanyl. That means it’s much easier to overdose: fentanyl claims tens of thousands of lives in America each year.
Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/taliban-afghanistan-europe-fentanyl-drugs-health-care-opium-alert/
