Sources of cash are drying up as front companies and drug production lines are dismantled and supply networks and smuggling routes are compromised. Iran is also questioning its funding of the group.

The Kingdom is working with European partners in its war on drugs. But with such stellar profits to be made and such keen demand, it has been an uphill battle.

The drug trade is bankrolling the Damascus government through an illicit trade valued at around $57bn. Al Majalla explains why it started and how it's shaping Syrian society.

A prevalence of cheap drugs, a lack of awareness, and an inability to detect problems at an early stage are just some of the factors that have created a perfect storm

Synonymous with the country and closely associated with communal Yemeni life, Khat consumption has increased of late, with increasingly harmful effects on the environment, health, and families

Drug production and abuse have wreaked havoc in all corners of the world. In the Middle East, Captagon has emerged as a lucrative business, threatening the social fabric of many parts of the region.

The Middle East and Central Asia have been major opium production centres for millennia but the growing legitimate and illegitimate use of these powerful drugs is also causing big problems

There are concerns about Iranian attempts to influence the internal situation in Jordan, either by using its territory for military actions against Israel or by attacking American entities there.

A newly released US State Department strategy asserts that joint defence programmes in the region were key to success in curbing the Captagon drug trade