“I have the right to live.” This is the quote that every Afghan has long been dreaming of experiencing throughout the horrifying history. It is not only war against terrorists that kills tens of innocent lives in a day. It is not only Taliban slaughtering tens of innocent civilians every day. There are many other silent enemies like poverty and drug addiction threatening the lives in Afghanistan.

Drug addiction which roots as a result of poverty and illiteracy is one of the most terribly threatening challenges that Afghan society has been battling with. “There are around one million Afghans who forms 8% of total population of the country, who are drug addicted,” reported by UN Drug and Crimes Office (UNODC). Considering the statistics by UNODC, drug addiction is a greater warning for Afghan society than Taliban.

Afghanistan, being the leading producer of poppy hosts twice the global average of drug consumers. The latest survey report by UNODC indicates a 53 percent increase in comparison to 2005 report. The number of opium users has jumped from 150,000 to 230,000.

The number of heroin users has increased from 50,000 to 120,000. As a leading producer of opium, Afghanistan produces around 92% of the world’s opium, according to the U.N. report last year, Afghanistan’s heroin production has created a market worth of $65 billion. But the UN secretary Ban Ki-moon addressing in a press conference declared the figure quite differently, “The world is failing to eradicate the drug trade in Afghanistan where opium production has raised by 61 percent during the last few years and the export earnings from Afghan opiates trade worth as much as $2.4 billion and accounts for 15% of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product.” Considering both, the UNODC report statistics and Ban’s statement which is basically based on UNODC reports, Afghanistan’s opium production is a great risk for the world’s safety in the future as the figures indicate a raise in addiction and use of drug in Afghanistan which does affect the worldwide illicit drug usage and trafficking figure.

Opium trade has been one of the sole sources of funds for Taliban during the last ten years. Despite spending billions of dollars in Afghanistan, International Community could not manage the funds properly. The chances of reemergence for popy cultivation among the Afghan farmers are highly considerable. Considering drug addiction figures in UNODC reports, drug addiction threatens millions of life in Afghanistan and seems to be more dangerous enemy than Taliban.