Afghanistan world's top cannabis source: U.N.

KABUL (Reuters) - Long the world's largest producer of opium, the raw ingredient of heroin, Afghanistan has now become the top supplier of cannabis, with large-scale cultivation in half of its provinces, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

"Like opium, cannabis cultivation, production and trafficking are taxed by those who control the territory, providing an additional source of revenue for insurgents," the report said.

While cannabis production in 2009 was valued at an estimated $39-94 million, this is only about 10-20 percent of the total farm-gate value of Afghanistan's opium production, because so much more opium is grown.

Afghanistan now world's top cannabis source: U.N.