Drug deaths in Kent are on the rise and the brutal Taliban regime in Afghanistan may be partly to blame.

The Afghan government's attempts to crush the growing of poppies, from which heroin is made, has resulted in a global shortage of "smack".

Narcotics pushers are now “cutting” heroin with stronger and potentially more deadly synthetic substitutes.

Afghanistan was once the source of 80% of the world's opiate raw material but current estimates say it now supplies just 20% as the Taliban rips out poppy fields, forcing peasant farmers to grow cereals instead.

Official figures (up to 2020) show there were 182 drug related deaths in Kent, then a record high, but it seems likely to increase further.

In the first six months of this year, fatalities linked to misuse have already reached 115.

Kent’s public health officials say powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are being used to “adulterate” supplies.

This issue was discussed at a meeting of Kent County Council’s (KCC) scrutiny committee on crime and disorder (July 19).

Later, scrutiny chairman Cllr Andy Booth told the Local Democracy Service: "I have no doubt the death toll in Kent will carry on rising. One of the worrying trends is these hybrid drugs - drugs so extraordinarily dangerous, even to hardened addicts.

"We are reliant on our police force doing their job and all the different agencies and voluntary groups being on the lookout for those people susceptible to drug abuse."

At the same meeting, public health consultant Jess Mookherjee said the substitute drugs now pose a real threat. Some are being purchased on the dark web, she said.

Now an increasing number of front line emergency workers, including 96 Kent Police officers, are carrying naloxone, a powerful medicine which rapidly reverses opioid overdoses.

It is widely used in the United States where fentanyl - said to be 50-100 times more potent than morphine - is now endemic in the supply of illegal drugs.

A report that KCC members related to the Kent Community Safety Agreement (KCSA) stated that as of 2020 there had been 182 deaths but in the first half of 2023 there were 115 sudden deaths linked to drugs.

It adds: "If this becomes a full year effect – this will be an increase in deaths in 2023."

The report also notes there are 5,600 people needing treatment for crack and opiate use but there is a shortfall in capacity of 63%, using Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) estimates.

Cllr Antony Hook (LiDem), who represents Favershamam, said police must get a grip on the source of synthetic “adulterants”.

He added: “This is a problem that is not easily solved. There must be sufficient treatment places but also genuine help and treatment for people to break the cycle of their addiction.”

In February, the Home Office, so concerned about their presence in the chain, banned 11 synthetic drugs to “stop lethal drugs claiming more lives”.

Policing Minister Chris Philp said earlier this year: “Synthetic opioids are highly dangerous substances, which ruin lives and devastate communities.

“We must stop these lethal drugs from reaching our streets, to prevent more tragic deaths and other harmful consequences of addiction, from violent crime to antisocial behaviour.”

The KCSA report states: "In Kent and Medway there were over 1,400 hospital admissions in which substance misuse is recorded as a primary or secondary diagnosis (including those admitted for mental and behavioural disorders resulting from opioids, cannabis, cocaine etc.)."

A national review carried out by Dame Carol Black found that the illicit drugs market in the UK is worth an estimated £9.4 billion a year.

Dame Carol concluded: "Drug and alcohol addiction fuels many costly social problems, including homelessness and rising demands on children’s social care. The drugs market is driving most of the nation’s crimes: half of all homicides and half of acquisitive crimes are linked to drugs."