Exclusive: Skyrocketing Heroin, Opium Use Ensnaring Afghan Children

Apr. 20, 2010 — -- Staggering levels of opium and heroin have been detected in Afghan children as young as 14 months by a team of researchers hired by the US State Department, revealing a fast-emerging problem that could cripple American efforts to bring stability to the war-torn country.

"I think we've opened a can of worms," said Bruce Goldberger, one of the University of Florida scientists heading up the study, who spoke exclusively with Brian Ross for a report airing on World News with Diane Sawyer and Nightline tonight. "This was just totally unexpected. No one has ever seen this type of exposure in young children. It's never been documented. And it's laying a foundation for drug abuse for a whole generation."

This first-ever look at household exposure to opium and heroin is not yet complete, but State Department officials and contractors shared preliminary findings exclusively with ABC News in hopes of drawing attention to a problem they say has been largely overlooked. The researchers said what they uncovered is both shocking and tragic.

Their field testing of homes of known drug users found that small children, even infants, have been passively exposed to heroin and opiates by the adult users in their homes. Some have inhaled dangerous quantities of second-hand smoke. Others have ingested traces of the drugs settling all around them -- coating their pillows and blankets and leaving a film atop carpets and furniture.

The chronic exposure is leading to levels of addiction rarely seen in children so young, the researchers told ABC News. If the problem is left unaddressed, they said, the consequences could be dire.

"This is a doomed generation of children," Goldberger said. "These children are classic opium or heroin addicts. They crave the drug. If the drug is withdrawn, they go through withdrawal."

Goldberger said he believes similar levels of narcotics in the bloodstream of pregnant women may help explain why Afghanistan has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the world.

Dr. Mohammed Zafar, an Afghan counter narcotics official, confirmed that his country "did not have such a problem as we have it presently." And he said his government has few resources to fix it."We have a very limited drug specialization centers, which is not enough for the drug population of Afghanistan which is more than one million," he said.