From what I understand, the deal with Heroin is that it's a relatively profitable cash crop in this time of global deflation in the raw materials/commodities market.
One article I read said that Afghanistan realizes about 500 million from its drug trade. That sounds like a lot, but not when you divide it by 20 million people. Interestingly, that 500 million constitutes a market of 80 billion after it has been transported and sold to the first world. The Afghanis take a pretty thin slice of that.
Joanna B.