Drugs like heroin, cocaine and opium have been around for thousands of years. Individuals have to say "no" or "yes". If enough people pull together, they can pass the laws to stop the drug trade. Ofcourse, economics have to be balanced with morality.

In Spain there was a heroin plague around the year 1980, so probably a consequence of the War in Afghanistan against the USSR, and a way to finance the Islamist guerrillas...

It is really a significant event. Much more attention needs to be placed on the fact that Afghanistan today accounts for 80% of opium production in the world. It should be NATO responsibility to address these statistics. It is a great burden on Central Asia, Russia and China to have to deal with this huge increase in production. NATO forces are assuming the responsiblity for what happens in occupied land, and this has been clearly spelled in UN Resolution on Afghanistan. It is hard to believe that NATO forces are oblivious to the thousands of acres of poppy fields, of thousands of labs that convert opium to heroin, and of huge amount of land traffic accross very few Afghan roads that is taking tons of drugs out of the country. Each road can be controlled for inspection of cargo, as it is impossible for tons of heroin to be smuggled in small quantities on mules accross the rugged terrain. NATO must pay attention to the possibility of smuggling within its own ranks. In Europe, the largest trade in heroin is controlled by the Albanian mafia, and most of those families live in Kosovo. Kosovo is a host of the largest military base built in Europe since WWII, Camp Bondsteel. It may be wise to determine what kind of support flights exist between NATO forces in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as there may be very tempting to bring the drugs directly into Kosovo, and from there it is an easy, unhindred trip through Albania to the waters of Adriatic --- and all over the Europe. The drug problem is a real public health emergency, the way any other major disease is. Adding moral component is just clouding the issue. Yes, educating population to the dangers of drug use is important, but it is equally important to apply all the tools available to the government to stem the flow of drugs that with them bring also corruption and violence.