Experts widely assess that Afghanistan will remain the world's primary source of opium poppy cultivation and opium and heroin production, as well as a major global source of cannabis resin, in the coming years (see Figure 1 below). In 2012, Afghanistan cultivated more than 94% of the world's opium poppy and produced approximately 95% of the world's opium, according to U.S. estimates. For its globally significant role in drug production and trafficking, the President has annually designated Afghanistan as a major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit country. In its 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report , the U.S. Department of State described counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan as "an uphill struggle and a long-term challenge." The potential consequences of Afghanistan's drug situation are wide ranging, with policy implications for economic and political development, as well as regional security priorities. Reports have long described a symbiotic link between narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan; corrupt government officials at the central, provincial, and district levels; ongoing insecurity; and lack of access to development opportunities. Elements of the insurgency, particularly the Taliban, are variously engaged in drug trafficking and the protection of fields, routes, and laboratories to finance operations. According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), such insurgency involvement is "extensive and expanding." Although estimates vary significantly, the U.N. Security Council's Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Team reported that the Taliban generates an estimated $100 million to $155 million annually in illicit income from the drug trade—a sum that may represent more than a quarter of total Taliban funds. The government of Afghanistan continues to depend on foreign donors for assistance and cooperation in responding to the drug problem. Congress has contributed to counternarcotics responses through the continued appropriation of funds and oversight of civilian, military, and law enforcement programs in Afghanistan. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) estimates that the U.S. government has spent at least $7 billion in counternarcotics assistance to Afghanistan since the international community began reconstruction and stability operations in FY2002—including more than $4 billion through the State Department and upward of $3 billion through the Defense Department. As coalition combat operations in Afghanistan draw to a close in 2014 and as the full transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces is achieved, some Members of the 113 th Congress have expressed concern regarding the future direction and policy prioritization of U.S. counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan, in light of diminishing resources and an uncertain political and security environment in 2015 and beyond. In early 2014, the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control and the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held hearings to discuss counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan with witnesses from the Obama Administration. One of the most immediate challenges to counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan is the upcoming end of coalition combat operations and the full transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces in 2014. In President Barack Obama's Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2014 , he summarized the key challenges facing Afghanistan's drug situation: As we approach the 2014 withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan, the country requires continued international support. Even greater efforts are needed to bring counternarcotics programs into the mainstream of social and economic development strategies to successfully curb illegal drug cultivation and production of opium as well as the high use of opiates among the Afghan population. Some, including Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko, are concerned that the military transition, which also corresponds to a reduction in civilian and law enforcement personnel at U.S. Embassy Kabul, will result in a loss of "critical manpower at precisely the time that poppy cultivation and drug trafficking is expanding." Counternarcotics efforts to date have relied heavily on the coalition military presence in Afghanistan, raising concerns among some policy makers regarding the sustainability of U.S. counternarcotics efforts following the transition. The U.S. government updated its counternarcotics strategy for Afghanistan in late 2012 to address transition-oriented objectives. It describes the transition as involving "two simultaneous and parallel transfers of responsibility," which includes not only the transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces, but also the transfer of counternarcotics responsibilities and law enforcement operational activities to the Afghan government. The U.S. strategy identifies two key priorities: (1) strengthening Afghan government capacity to conduct counternarcotics efforts and (2) countering links between drugs and the insurgency by disrupting drug-related funding to the insurgency through and beyond the security transition. Despite the U.S. strategy, detailed counternarcotics implementation plans beyond 2014 remain in flux as negotiations continue on the Afghanistan Bilateral Security Agreement. Several counternarcotics-related transition changes are, however, underway, including the following: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mission Change. At the end of 2014, the coalition's military mission in Afghanistan is expected to transition to a NATO-led training, advisory, and assistance mission named Resolute Support Mission (RSM). The NATO-led mission, however, will reportedly have a reduced capacity to support counternarcotics efforts at current levels. Military-L ed Counternarcotics Operations. In a November 2013 report to Congress, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan , DOD acknowledged that fewer drug-related targets are being prioritized. As coalition forces draw down, it is widely anticipated that diminished military resources will affect the scope and frequency of U.S.-supported counternarcotics operations in 2014, particularly in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Moreover, SIGAR reports that U.S. and coalition-provided support functions, including air transportation, security, and intelligence for counternarcotics operations, "cannot be replicated by Afghan forces." U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Staffing and Operations. Following the transition, DEA has reported that it will "transition its operational profile to correspond with traditional DEA overseas operations." DEA intends, however, to continue to periodically deploy members of its Foreign-deployed Advisory and Support Team (FAST) to Afghanistan. DEA further anticipates that it will be limited to counternarcotics activities based out of Kabul. Already, SIGAR reported that the coalition's drawdown has reduced security, intelligence, medical evacuation, and tactical air control support for DEA's high-risk operations in country. The transition has also already been linked with a sharp decline in the volume of drugs and precursor chemicals interdicted; the total number of counternarcotics operations between FY2012 and FY2013 declined by 26%. U.S. Department of State Programming. State Department-funded counternarcotics programs are in various stages of transition to full Afghan responsibility. Some are already fully implemented by the Afghan government (e.g., Governor-Led Eradication and the Good Performer's Initiative), while the transition timeline for other programs may span several more years. After 2014, the State Department does not plan to have a permanent counternarcotics presence outside Kabul. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Field Presence. Although alternative development projects are implemented by contractors, some observers indicate that the transition could affect USAID's ability to conduct program monitoring and oversight. As the U.S. government's footprint in Afghanistan recedes, particularly at the provincial and district levels, so have the number of USAID field officers assigned to monitoring programs in Afghanistan. Creation of the Regional Narcotics and Analysis and Illicit Trafficking Task Force (RNAIT-TF ). In its Post-2014 Counternarcotics Strategy for Afghanistan , submitted to Congress in late 2013, DOD proposes the establishment, by the end of FY2014, of a new interagency and international coordination mechanism for counternarcotics-related threats, including counter-threat finance. According to DOD, it is intended to be a "bridge" between current counternarcotics activities inside Afghanistan and more regionally focused efforts following the transition and drawdown of U.S. and coalition forces from Afghanistan. In the context of a growing drug problem in Afghanistan and diminished coalition participation in counternarcotics operations, some observers have questioned whether the drug issue will be an Afghan policy priority following the transition—and whether the U.S. government will lose its ability to exert pressure for counternarcotics actions, including corruption investigations that target high-level officials. Others question whether policy makers are sufficiently prepared for the consequences that the transition may bring to counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan, including a reduced security forces presence in key drug producing provinces and potentially declining resources for counternarcotics programming, such as alternative development. The transition may also reignite policy debates on the impact and consequences associated with previously controversial policy ideas, including aerial eradication of opium poppy crops, alternative development programming linked to eradication commitments, and the licensing of medical-grade opium production for legal export and sale. The following sections describe key U.S. counternarcotics programs in Afghanistan and identify related policy issues. Key programs discussed include (1) interdiction, (2) eradication, (3) the Good Performer's Initiative, (4) alternative development, (5) demand reduction, (6) public awareness, (7) counter-threat finance, (8) prosecution, (9) institutional development, and (10) international and regional cooperation. As the transition continues through 2014, counternarcotics plans and policy may continue to evolve. A core tenet of counternarcotics policy in Afghanistan has included efforts to disrupt drug trafficking through interdiction operations—a specialized law enforcement capacity that the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTM-A) expects to transition to Afghan responsibility as part of the overall security transition (see Figure 2 below).