Meth Story

If you gaze over at a map of Afghanistan.....on the far west of the country, there's this community called Ghourian.  Over the past hundred years, there's not much of significance that ever happened in this valley region.  Population?  Around 54,000 residents....more or less.

In the last year or two, Ghourian has gotten itself on the map and kinda recognized.  If you follow TRT (the Turkish national news network)....they've gone and reviewed the town of Ghourian and found that they have a curious side-job that has erupted and gotten themselves on the map.....production of meth.

Yes, TRT says (you have to wonder how they arrived at the numbers) that four out of five households in Ghourian....are in the meth-pipeline.  They either make it or deliver it.

The customers?  This is the curious part of the story.  Ghourian is about an hour's drive from the Iranian border.  The primary customers for the Ghourian meth?  Iranians.

How big of an issue is this?  If you did the math and suggested that 30,000 of the city residents are involved in this.....putting forty to fifty hours a week into meth production and delivery to 'sales representatives' in Iran.....then there's an abundant flow of meth going in, and it has to be influencing rational or irrational behavior within Iran.

But then you look back at Ghourian, and kinda wonder.....with all that meth 'cooking' going on, and lack of labs....the meth is likely cooked in some guy's house, or the back of his bakery, or gas station.  In simple terms....he's in contact with the stuff and his judgement capability is pushing 'zero'.

All of this, if you add it up...would make for a great 'Breaking Bad' TV show....set in Afghanistan, with some CIA guy cleverly devising this as a method to bring down the Iranian government over the next ten years.  Imagine one out of every five Iranians under the age of forty.....addicted to meth.  Imagine a whole nation, where things are fairly screwed up because most people you are doing dealing with, from the local judge and cops....to the local doctor....are whacked out on meth.  And here in the middle of this is some 'Walter White-Afghan guy'.