Politics & Government
On the streets of Kabul, the two- and three-floor homes are the sort that many in Kabul refer to as Poppy Palaces because they are often owned by government officials or those connected with them who make low salaries but have expensive homes thought to be paid for with proceeds from Afghanistan's drug industry. (Tom Lasster/MCT)
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Former Helmand Provincial Governor Mohammed Daoud is shown at his home in Kabul on March 13, 2009. Daoud and two other former Helmand governors have criticized the western presence in Afghanistan for not doing more to crack down on drug cultivation and trafficking. Helmand, in the south of Afghanistan, is the world's largest supplier of opium. (Tom Lasster/MCT)
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Abdul Satar, a poppy farmer, pictured during an interview in Kandahar on March 24, 2009. Satar and other poppy farmers in the area say their crops are taxed by both the Taliban and government forces. (Tom Lasster/MCT)
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Abdul Satar, a poppy farmer, pictured during an interview in Kandahar on March 24, 2009. Satar and other poppy farmers in the area say their crops are taxed by both the Taliban and government forces. (Tom Lasster/MCT)
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Ahmadullah, a 20-year-old junkie and former small-time heroin dealer from Kandahar, stands in the doorway of an abandoned building used by opium and heroin users in Kabul. He said that when police in Kandahar would arrest him for selling drugs, "I would give them 1,000 or 2,000 Afghanis -- $20 or $40- and they'd let me go." (Tom Lasster/MCT)
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