Will the Taliban’s return fuel a rise in heroin use in Finland?

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has fuelled speculation that the global supply of heroin could increase as a result.

Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium – the key ingredient in heroin and other opiate drugs. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the percentage of Afghan land devoted to farming opium poppies grew 37 percent in 2019-2020 alone.

With a rise in production, there are fears that European countries could see increased heroin use as the supply rises.

But National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) special investigator Jari Leskinen said the risks were overstated.

“The fear of a heroin tsunami as a result of the Taliban regime is based on ignorance. The huge and steady flow from Afghanistan has been going on for a long time and will continue,” he said.

Leskinen does not believe that demand for the drug will rise in Finland in the future, arguing that the flow of heroin from Afghanistan has remained high and constant, under both the Taliban and the US-backed government. A change of government unlikely to affect this.

“The UN’s annual reports make it quite clear that, year after year and decade after decade, Afghanistan is the main producer of raw opium and heroin, whoever is in power,” Leskinen said.

Police: Subutex will continue to hold its own

In Finland, heroin was replaced by buprenorphine – usually known by the brand name Subutex – in the early 2000s, a period when heroin had caused many overdoses and deaths.

Although it is available on prescription in Finland, smuggling Subutex is also a very lucrative business, Helsinki police say.

“Subutex is brought to Finland from France, as well as the streets of some other places. One tablet costs a few euros. In Finland, they may ask for dozens of euros, or even in northern Finland or in prisons a hundred euros. Subutex has a high profit margin in Finland,” said Markku Heinikari, inspector at Helsinki Police Department’s narcotics unit.

According to the experts, Subutex has all but replaced heroin use in Finland.

“Most of the Subutex trafficked by foreign criminal groups comes to Finland. Nowhere else is it used to the same extent,” Heinikari said.

“It may well be that the supply to Europe is increasing, but since there is no demand for heroin in Finland, you wouldn’t start pumping it into markets that are not attractive. But if there was demand, there would certainly be heroin here,” he said.

By contrast, there is a huge amount of marijuana coming into Finland, because demand is very high, Heinikari said.

Heroin for Afghans is main business. And when there is no legal government heroin supplies are likely to increase. And of course Taliban will find the way how sell it to Europe.