World's Top 5 Producers of Illicit Drugs

Many countries create laws outlawing the production of dangerous drugs, but allow cultivation to continue anyway. This is usually because the country welcomes the money that drugs can bring into their economy, or because the government does not have the strength to enforce their laws.

According to the CIA World Factbook, if all the opium produced in the world in 2005 was refined into heroin, it would amount to about 577 metric tons. That's almost 1.3 million pounds, which is equal to the weight of about 320 elephants.

These are some of the biggest cultivators of poppy and coca plants in the world, from the CIA's data. These plants are used to make opium, heroin, and cocaine. Many other countries contribute to the production of drugs by providing money laundering, acting as a transit point, or supplying growers with the chemicals needed to make the drugs.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan produces more opium than any other country in the world. Although the amount of land used to grow poppy decreased by almost 50% in 2005, the weather conditions were favorable, and the amount of crops produced only dropped by 10%. Almost all of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghanistan's opium cultivation. In addition, Afghanistan also supplies large amounts of marijuana to the world.

Colombia

Colombia produces more cocaine than any other country in the world. They grow huge amounts of the coca plant. They provide almost all of the cocaine consumed in the United States, as well as to other countries. The government has tried to lower coca production by poisoning the fields, but cultivation continues to increase.

Their production of poppy dropped by 50% in 2004, but they still managed to provide large amounts of heroin to the United States.

Peru

Following Colombia, Peru comes in second for cocaine production. Until 1996, Peru was number one, but was then overtaken by Colombia. However, unlike the Colombian government, the Peruvian government is unwilling to attack key growth areas for coca.

Burma

Burma is the world's second largest producer of opium. This is fueled by the government's unwillingness to fund a battle against the drug groups. Unlike Afghanistan, opium production has risen in Burma in recent years. Methamphetamine and opium are also produced here, and distributed in the region surrounding Burma.

Morocco

Morocco provides hashish for a large part of the world's demand. Hashish is made from cannabis, with high concentrations of different parts of the plant. In addition to being smoked, it can be eaten or cooked into food. This is the form of marijuana used to make "magic" brownies. Most of their hashish makes its way to Western Europe. In addition, they consume quite a lot of cannabis within their own country.

The battle against worldwide production of drugs has quite a way to go. Drug production dropped in 2005, but not by a lot. As long as there is money to be made from illicit drugs, there will be countries willing to allow it.