It is not the "democratic" regime which is encouraging the opium production in Afghanistan. Actually it is the NATO, which is encouraging the heroin production. The NATO even helps the drug traffickers to smuggle the Afghan heroin to Russia and Iran. It is like a proxy war. NATO is destroying the youth in Russia and Iran, without spending a penny. Every year 300,000 Russians die from Heroin addiction and its consequences (such as Hepatitis B and HIV). In Iran also, tens of thousands of people are dying every year as a result of this. And the most important thing is that most of those who lose their lives, are in their teens or in their 20s.