Armed insurgents are frequently the adversaries when governments try to control the international drug trade, according to the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The Associated Press reported June 26 that authorities are facing heavily armed opponents in Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar as they battle to contain drug trafficking, says the new World Drug Report 2008.

"The explosion of narcotics in those areas is explained by their presence and the protection they offer," said UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa. "I believe that slowly these people, although politically motivated at the beginning, are becoming a kind of organized crime. Money tends to stick to fingers, and a big lump of money becomes very problematic."

In Afghanistan, for example, 80 percent of the poppy crop is grown in five provinces where Taliban militants are active. "In the southern areas controlled by the Taliban, counter-narcotics and counterinsurgency must be fought together," Costa said.

Militants' role in the drug trade not only makes enforcement difficult but also blunts attempts to get farmers to grow alternative crops.

"Recent major increases in drug supply from Afghanistan and Colombia may drive addiction rates up because of lower prices and higher purity of doses," Costa said.