Afghan poppies

The U.N. report found opium production in Afghanistan has exploded to a record high -- with the country supplying 93 percent of the heroin, morphine,and other opiates on the world market. 

Hamid Karzai

Mr. Karzai said opium production is low in areas where his government has control, but higher in areas where foreign troops are fighting Taleban insurgents. 

The United States and Britain have committed more than $500 million to combat drug production and promote alternative crops in Afghanistan.

The U.N. report found some progress, but found that Taleban insurgents are playing an increasingly important role in the region's drug trade.

Elaine Shannon

Shannon says concerned nations must convince all involved in the harvesting of poppy -- from local warlords to farmers -- that the Taleban's protection comes at a perilous price. "Okay, you did it, this is how you survived, this is how your people survived, but now it's time to build a nation. And that nation cannot be built on organized crime.  Your sons will be killed, your daughters may be taken away, you will have no recourse -- you need an orderly society, because that is the way for your family's future"

Shannon says the absence of a legitimate legal system in Afghanistan is also a major hindrance to the anti-drug effort. "Right now in most villages -- it's village law. And no major traffickers have been arrested. They have got to have a system for amassing evidence. Right now, there really isn't one much."

Antonio Maria Costa

He also called for international forces to step up direct attacks on the illegal drug trade.