Opium production in Afghanistan reaches record high

Despite US and international efforts to destroy poppy fields and opium production, unemployment and 16 years of war have driven an increase in both supply and demand in Afghanistan.

Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the US invasion in 2001.

Last year 9,000 tonnes were produced, an increase of 87 percent.

As a result, the record number of people turning to drugs in desperation is also increasing.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley reports from Kabul, Afghanistan.