Opium - GS questions based on daily current affairs

1)   Which country is the world’s leader in Opium production?

a. Afghanistan
b. Myanmar
c. Laos
d. Thailand
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Afghanistan

Explanation:

  • Myanmar is the world's second largest producer of illicit opium, after Afghanistan.
  • Afghanistan now produces over 90% of the world's non-pharmaceutical-grade opium. In addition to opiates, Afghanistan is also the world's largest producer of hashish.


2)   Golden Crescent, an area known for illicit opium production includes which of the following nations?

1) Afghanistan
2) Iraq
3) Iran
4) Pakistan


a. 1, 2
b. 1, 4
c. 1, 3, 4
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1, 3, 4

Explanation:

  • The Golden Crescent is the name given to one of Asia's two principal areas of illicit opium production (with the other being the Golden Triangle), located at the crossroads of Central, South, and Western Asia.
  • This space overlaps three nations, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, whose mountainous peripheries define the crescent.
  • The Golden Crescent has a much longer history of opium production than does Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle emerged as a modern-day opium-producing entity only in the 1980s, after the Golden Crescent did so in the 1950s.