Mystery Drug
According to a news report in April, in the southeastern province of Paktia, health officials said tablet k pills had been seized from local pharmacies.
In Jalalabad, Mohammad, who works at a pharmacy, told Al Jazeera the drug could be found anywhere from taxis, kebab shops, rickshaws and even pharmacies.
"We put it in antibiotics packets and when those who know what to ask for approach us, we sell it to them under the guise of medicine," said Mohammad*, who uses the drug and requested anonymity.
There is very little understanding of the drug's ingredients.
In 2017, the United Nations has said the pills, likely a form of stimulants, could contain anything from methamphetamine to MDMA, but that: "The content of tablets sold as 'tablet k' in Afghanistan remains unclear."
Shah Mahmood Miakhel, the governor of Nangarhar province, has said he does not know what goes into tablet k.
"The police have to know what they're looking for, otherwise it just looks like medicine. Also, dealers are smart, they change the code name all the time, so one week they call it 'potatoes', another week they refer to it as 'eggplants,'" said Gharzai, the 23-year-old student, who said he has previously taken eight or nine pills at a time.