Is Afghanistan-made methamphetamine about to flood Europe?

The Taliban has promised to crack down on the drug trade, but if the Afghan economy fails, a crisis could unfold, experts say.

Afghanistan is already the world’s largest supplier of opium. But opium, which is used to make heroin, is not the only illegal drug that the war-torn nation is producing. Over the past four years, Afghans have also been getting better at making methamphetamine, known colloquially as speed, crystal or meth. In some parts of Afghanistan, methamphetamine output already appears to be outpacing that of opium. But, researchers have argued, not enough attention has been paid to the burgeoning illegal drug trade.