There is probably no other country in the world with such a fluid and counterintuitive history of drugs as Iran,” says Maziyar Ghiabi, professor at the University of Exeter, in his book, Drugs Politics: Managing Disorder in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its problems with illicit drug misuse are among the greatest in the world. It is unique among Muslim countries in having embraced syringe exchange and other harm reduction programs on a large scale. It also executed more people for drug offenses in recent decades than any other country. It probably ranks #1 in the proportion of the country using methadone or buprenorphine. It likely also ranks #1 in the proportion of the population involved with Narcotics Anonymous. All this in a country in which a Shiite cleric is the ultimate political authority. It’s a fascinating story, and ever evolving.

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