Monitoring Desk: Afghanistan has become world’s fastest-growing manufacturer of methamphetamine (Ice) but it is still undisputed king of global heroin, the UNODC reports. According to report, Afghanistan is successfully reshaping the illicit drug markets of neighboring countries into primary transit corridors for regional and global distribution and the landscape of the Afghan drug trade has transformed from agricultural fields to hidden chemical labs, the country has maintained its position as a dominant, highly volatile hub for global narcotics production. Ephedra grows abundantly in Afghanistan and contains ephedrines that can be extracted to make methamphetamine. Although ephedra harvesting for the explicit purpose of methamphetamine manufacture has been documented, precursor chemicals, including cold medication preparations that contain ephedrines, generally offer more straightforward means to make methamphetamine, and analysis of seizures global consignments suggest they are used in illegal methamphetamine…