November 19, 2003

Iran's drug problem continues to grow rapidly. Between March and August, 1,834 people died from drug use, up 44 percent from the same period last year. Most of the deaths are from overdoses, most often from heroin. But opium is the most popular drug, and nearly all the drugs are coming out of Afghanistan. There are over 100,000 troops and police on the Afghan border, fighting a low level war with the Afghan drug smuggling