Not sure I believe that. In their previous incarnation the taliban used the opium poppy as a revenue stream despite their “religious convictions”.
CC
The proof is the huge increase in fentanyl related deaths. Drug users must get their high. But they don’t want to actually die. But if the “safe” high isn’t available they’ll use the unsafe method. I listened to a former user who overdosed and his “buddies,” thinking he was dead, hid his body in a dumpster. He recovered hours later. He would have been killed if he’d been in the dumpster when the trash truck came. But the very next thing he did was get more drugs to get high again.
The Taliban used the drug money to fight the US. Now the US is gone so their religious convictions can take precedence. This is consistent with Islam which allows you to do or say anything as long as it is underpinned by your ultimate religious convictions.