Afghan President Hamid Karzai says Afghans are "embarrassed" to be the world's biggest suppliers of opium and heroin, and says his government is fully determined to fight the drug trade.
He told CNN Sunday his government will begin destroying opium poppy crops very soon.
He made the remarks as his government began to train a team of investigators, judges and prosecutors to hunt down, try and jail drug traffickers in the country.
The move is aimed at removing one of the obstacles to combating the rising opium trade, the lack of a functioning legal system.
Poppy cultivation brings in almost $3 billion a year to Afghanistan, and is the main engine of the country's economic growth.