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CASE NUMBER: 136 CASE MNEMONIC: COLCOCA CASE NAME: Colombian Cocoa Trade A. IDENTIFICATION 1. The Issue The coca and poppy cultivation in the Andean jungle is significantly damaging the environment in the region. The main threats to the environment are deforestation caused by clearing the fields for cultivation, soil erosion caused by several factors, and chemical pollution from insecticides and fertilizers. Additionally, the process of converting coca and poppy into cocaine and heroine has adverse effects on the environment as well. These environmental issues are difficult to address due to cocažs position as a traditional crop and trade item, the influence and wealth of the drug traffickers opposing restrictions, and the issue of national sovereignty. Most realize the social impact of the drug trade worldwide, but few realize the environmental impact. Hopefully, this case study will help bring the situation to light. 2. Description Coca has been an important cultivated crop in the Andean region for over 4,000 years and has been an integral component in the trade between the highland areas and the coast for nearly as long (see COCA case). The cultural homogeneity of the regions was first established and maintained through these trade relationships which are still largely in effect today. Archaeologists have discovered numerous artifacts indicating that the chewing of the coca leaf has been used by the inhabitants of the region from as far south as Chile to northern Central America since 2100 BC. Traditionally, the coca leaf has been chewed to relieve fatigue and hunger, as it is a mild stimulant. Additionally, it has the medical applications of helping relieve altitude sickness and conserve body heat. It also provides some essential vitamins when consumed. Obviously, these three characteristics are particularly useful in the mountainous Andes. In the historical past the coca leaf has been integral to a number of religious ceremonies, based on prehistoric use patterns. The use of coca has always figured prominently in Andean cultural and religious daily life and continues to do so even today. The coca leaf contains less than 1% cocaine and has much the same effect as caffeine. Therefore, even though cocaine is processed from coca leaves, the two products are dramatically different in effects and usage. One of the challenges in limiting coca growth is to satisfy this benign traditional demand while eliminating the cash crop business that supplies the cocaine producers. The evolution of coca into the cash crop of the Andes has been occurring for the last century. From the commercial (Coca Cola is widely known for past usage of the drug in their product) and medicinal (along with opium, cocaine was used to alleviate pain in the injured during the Civil War and afterward) sales of the early twentieth century to the multi-billion dollar drug business that exists today, coca had and has a significant influence upon economic life in the Andes. Strategies to arrest the drug problem can be separated into two distinct approaches: reduction of demand and reduction of supply. When considering the problems of the drug use, most of the attention of scholars and professionals focuses on the social and economic aspects of the situation. Until recently very little work has isolated the environmental consequences of the increasing coca cultivation, which are considerable. The Andean region is among the most ecologically diverse and sensitive areas of the Earth and it has been subjected to increasingly stressful abuse in recent years as a result of drug crop cultivation. There are three primary environmental consequences of coca and poppy cultivation: deforestation and the destruction of the habitat, soil erosion, and pollution of both air and water. Additionally, the processing of the raw drug crops into their refined forms also has a destructive environmental consequence. Easily the most visible environmentally destructive effect of coca and poppy cultivation is deforestation. During a fifteen year period beginning in the 1970žs, 700,000 hectares of rain forest in the Amazon basin was destroyed to clear land for coca growth. The immediate effect of deforestation is the reduction of natural habitat and subsequent reduction in the bio-diversity of the region. A secondary effect of the deforestation derives from the typical method of preparing an area for cultivation through a slash and burn procedure. This burning is the major source of air pollution in the jungle. Though these consequences are significant, the most critical effect of deforestation is that it leads to soil erosion. Due to the illegality of coca and poppy growth the farmers place their fields on hillsides, which are more difficult for the government agents to reach than fields located on the valley floors. Because the government does pursue an active eradication campaign, the farmers rarely expect to enjoy long-term cultivation of their fields and, consequently, rarely employ soil conservation techniques. The coca fields are planted along the contours of the land with little terracing and the fields are kept bare of plants except for the coca or poppy plants. These methods, in combination with the steep slopes, serve to strip away topsoil with every strong wind and heavy rain, very quickly making the fields infertile not only for further cultivation but for jungle plant life as well. Recent observers over-flying the jungle describe it as a patchwork quilt of green broken by patches of gray desolation. In addition to causing soil infertility, the topsoil runoff fills waterways and rivers with sediment changing their courses, causing flooding, and killing fish and aquatic plant life by lowering the oxygen content of the water and smothering the river bottoms. Locals who used to depend on the large fish in the rivers for food, no longer find any fish large enough to eat. Pollution is also a factor in the environmental destructiveness of coca and poppy cultivation. The pesticides used by the growers travel through the soil into the ground water and eventually into the rivers and streams. Pesticides are inherently toxic to the insects but they can also harm larger animals and people in greater concentrations. Fish and other aquatic life are particularly susceptible to this contamination. Another source of pollution is the fertilizer used by the growers, which also enters the water systems after chemically "burning" the more sensitive vegetation of the region. The fertilizer in the water encourages the algae to grow at increased rates while killing the organisms that feed on it. As a result, the algae overwhelms other aquatic plant life and restricts water flow. The processing of coca leaves into coca paste and cocaine has its own environmentally damaging effects. U.S. State Department studies indicate that ž10 million liters of sulfuric acid, 16 million liters of ethyl ether, 8 million liters of acetone, and from 40-770 million liters of kerosenež are poured directly into the ground by cocaine processors working in the Andean region, mainly Colombia, yearly. The consequences of this pollution are quickly felt in the small rivers where the aquatic life is devastated. The primary growing area in southern Colombia, the Caqueta river basin, is particularly polluted. There have also been increasing reports of sickness among the people and livestock of these areas, who rely on the rivers and well for water. In addition to its standing as the world's premier cocaine producer, Colombia now ranks as the worldžs third largest producer of opium, the largest in the western hemisphere. North America has been receiving an increasing amount of heroin in recent years as the Cali cartel has taken advantage of the land less suitable for coca growth and planted it with poppies. This increase in heroin growth in Colombia appears to be unrelated to the Opium Wars in Southeast Asia as the increase in U.S. consumption came about only after increased exports from Colombia had been established. Thus, the Colombians seem to have increased demand for their heroin in the U.S. through increased supply at lower prices and not through supplanting the previous supply from Southeast Asia. Estimations place total area under poppy cultivation at 20,000 hectares, which has ideal growing conditions slightly hotter and dryer than coca requires. Though the effects of poppy growth in Colombia are largely unpublished, the same farmers are growing both crops and it can be assumed that similar damage is being committed in poppy cultivation as is being done in coca cultivation. During the last several years drug traffickers have increased their ownership of agriculturally suitable land four- fold; they now control through direct or intermediary ownership 8%-11% of all agricultural land in Colombia. This is extremely alarming as this control gives the drug traffickers more direct opportunity to utilize the land for drug crop cultivation, which, as stated above, is extremely destructive to the jungle environment. In 1992, Colombia only produced 13 percent of the world's coca, but its cartels now have a strangle-hold on the world's cocaine processing, at 70-80 percent of total production and distribution world wide. This concentration of business has had an enormous effect in Colombia. First, estimates place the total of drug money repatriated into the Colombian economy to be as high as $7 billion, this is almost as large as the total legitimate exports for Colombia which were $7.6 billion in 1993. These huge profits exert an enormous influence over every aspect of life in Colombia. The trafficking organizations employ thousands of people from the farmer in the field to irregular troops and assassins to pilots, chemists, lawyers, and other professionals. These vast amounts of money give the traffickers significant means to protect themselves from the law both local and national. Over $100 million is spent on bribes to Colombian officials yearly according to estimates by U.S. law enforcement officials. This level of influence has led some to declare that Colombia is the world's first "Narco-Democracy." Evidence of bribery has extended throughout the Colombian government including the former president of the national congress, congressmen, judges, army officers, and policemen. A comment by Cali cartel leader Gilberto Rodrigez Orejuela illustrates this, "We don't kill judges or ministers, we buy them." A former DEA officer states the situation just as clearly when he says that he "cannot think of a single political or judicial institution that has not been penetrated by the narco-traffickers." Even more importantly, the Colombian constitution forbids the extradition of criminals. 3. Related Cases COCA case Keyword Clusters (1): Trade Product = COCA (2): Bio-geography = TROPical (3): Environmental Problem = DEFORestation 4. Draft Author: Brett D. Schaefer B. LEGAL Clusters 5. Discourse and Status: DISagreement and INPROGress Coca growth has been a part of the Andean economy for thousands of years, but its growth has never been wide spread as a cash crop until as recently as the 1970žs when the first large scale demand for cocaine occurred in the United States. Largely through pressure from the United States, Colombia has adopted U.S. counter-narcotics techniques to compliment their outlawing of the growth of coca and the production of cocaine. Though Colombia is the largest producer and trafficker in cocaine, Peru is largest grower of coca. Despite its efforts, Colombia has not constrained the flow of cocaine. Indeed, Colombia seems to have lost ground to the drug traffickers in several key areas. The traffickers have exerted their influence over the new constitution in two ways. First, the constitution forbids the extradition of drug traffickers to the United States where they would receive legitimate trials and severe sentencing if convicted. The same document places a maximum of 12 years incarceration on drug trafficking convictions. The large amounts of money available to the drug traffickers ensures that they will be able to afford the best lawyers for their defense, many of whom are former prosecutors. This premium defense makes convictions difficult in the United States and even more so in the corruptible courts of Colombia. Though domestic law indisputably classifies coca growth and cocaine processing as illegal, there has been pervasive popular resistance towards its actual implementation. This resistance resulted in a provincial agreement by the government not to destroy coca fields smaller than 3 hectares. This agreement was broken by the government due to pressure from the United States. A second attack on government eradication policies came from environmentalist groups, allegedly in the pay of the drug cartels, which objected to the governmentžs spraying of the herbicide glyphosate on the grounds that it destroys the environment and is harmful to the health of the people living in the region. The accusations of these groups are weakened by the fact that this herbicide is fully approved by the USEPA, is used in over 100 nations world wide, and has received no similar charges elsewhere. 6. Forum and Scope: COLOMbia and REGIONal The illegality of coca growth and cocaine production is officially a strictly internal matter of the Colombian determination, which has decided to comply with the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psycotropic Substances. However, the reality of the situation is quite different. The United States has considerable influence over the drug policies pursued by Colombia, just as it has considerable influence through out the Western Hemisphere, through the distribution of aid and economic agreements. The United States has also used limited military action to aid the DEA in crop destruction and drug seizures, but has withheld full military action because of the diplomatic complications. Colombia is not willing to give permission to the U.S. for an all out effort to eradicate the drug business. The U.S. has passed judgment on drug producing nations since 1986, essentially determining whether the country is contributing sufficient efforts towards counter-narcotics programs. A failing rating strips the country of its foreign aid eligibility and preferred trade status, both of these being strong deterrents to drug policy rebellion. 7. Decision Breadth: Colombia and MANY 8. Legal Standing: LAW and TREATY It is against the law in Colombia to grow coca (since 1947) and poppy or to produce cocaine or heroine, however this law is mostly enforced due to pressure induced by U.S. treaties requiring full compliance with the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psycotropic Substances. The punishment for non-compliance with U.S. efforts or the UN Convention is the retraction of foreign aid and, for the Andean Region, expulsion from the Andean Trade Preferences Act (essentially an agreement allowing barrier free access to U.S. markets, for products made by industries not considered threatened by foreign trade or vital to U.S. interests, in return for full compliance with the UN Convention). C. GEOGRAPHIC Clusters 9. Geographic Locations a. Geographic Domain : South America [SAMER] b. Geographic Site : ANDES c. Geographic Impact : COLOMbia This case study is concerned with Colombia, but other principal coca growers are Peru and Bolivia. Indeed, the damage in Peru is estimated to be higher than that in Colombia, as it is the worldžs major producer of coca (see COCA case on this). 10. Sub-National Factors: No A provincial agreement had been reached protecting fields of drug crops below a certain size from herbicidal spraying, but this agreement was withdrawn. 11. Type of Habitat: TROPical D. TRADE Clusters 12. Type of Measure: Export Ban [EXBAN] Cocaine and heroin are controlled substances world-wide and any trafficking in them other than for specific medical purposes is strictly forbidden. 13. Direct vs. Indirect Impacts: DIRect 14. Relation of Measure to Environmental Impact a. Directly Related : YES COCA b. Indirectly Related : YES FOOD c. Not Related : NO d. Process Related : YES DEFORestation The coca and poppy fields are not directly destructive to the environment, it is the methods utilized in their cultivation that result in the destruction. The deforestation committed in clearing the fields, the chemical pollution from insecticides and fertilizers, and the soil erosion are inevitable with the current method of cultivation. Additionally, the chemicals used in processing the raw crop into the narcotic are environmentally harmful as well. Indirectly related to the problem is the situation of food crops. The farmers often have switched to growing drug crops for economic reasons, placing a greater stress on the environment as the farmers hunt to supplement their diets. If the farmers do grow subsistence crops in addition to their drug crops, both crops are generally destroyed by drug enforcement officers through indiscriminate aerial spraying because the two fields are either overlapping or adjacent to one another. 15. Trade Product Identification: COCA and products 16. Economic Data In 1993 total legal exports from Colombia were $7.6 billion, During that same year the DEA estimated that Colombian drug traffickers repatriated up to $7 billion in laundered drug money into the Colombian economy. Essentially, the drug trade is returning as great a profit as the total exports of the country - with no recipients but the drug cartels who use that wealth to sustain their enterprise. Is it any wonder that the Government has difficulty handling the situation? In 1993, coca returned a greater profit than any legally cultivated crop in Colombia by 15%. In fact, the only crop to return a greater profit than coca was poppy, which returned a profit 22 percent higher than coca. 17. Impact of Measure on Trade Competitiveness: MEDium There are two arguments for the actual effects of the ban. First, that the ban raises the demand of the product to the extent that growing coca is too profitable for the farmer and trafficker to forgo. The opposing view believes that, without the ban, demand for the product would skyrocket and, thus, its removal would have little effect on driving prices down. 18. Industrial Sector: PHARMaceutical Coca and poppy growth is agricultural in nature, while the processing of the raw material into the final products is done in what is essentially a light chemical manufacturing process. 19. Exporter and Importers: COLOMbia and USA Up to 20 percent of the Andean region is suitable for coca production with the primary producers of raw coca being Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. However, the primary exporter of processed cocaine products is Colombia. Primary importers of processed cocaine are the United States, Western Europe, Japan, and more recently Eastern Europe. E. ENVIRONMENT Clusters 20. Environmental Problem Type: DEFORestation Deforestation is occurring at a staggering pace in Colombia as coca and poppy growers increase the number of fields under cultivation and move from depleted land no longer able to support the crop. The effects of the crop field expansion are compounded by the fact that every planted hectare of coca or poppy requires two and one-half hectares of forest to be cut. "At the present rate of destruction... Colombia will lose a third of its remaining forests and jungles by the end of the century." The habitat loss resulting from the coca and poppy cultivation stems from two characteristics of the farmeržs cultivation techniques. Because the drug crops return a greater profit than most legitimate crops, the farmers can purchase fertilizer that is not economical for legal crops. Because the fertilizers create a greater yield, the farmers are not as concerned about preserving the soil. Also, the crop eradication by the Colombian government and the DEA does not allow the farmer the luxury of anticipating a long term occupation of his field, therefore the farmer is more concerned about short-term growth than about sustainability. To make access more difficult, the farmer's plant their crops on freshly cleared hillsides aiding heavy soil erosion from wind and rain. Nitrates used by coca and poppy growers as fertilizers pollute the water ways causing fish deaths and spurring abnormal algae growth. The chemicals used in processing the raw products into the drugs range from sulfuric acid to gasoline to sevin (which has been used to create poison gas in Iraq). Estimates of chemical wastes dumped into the ground and streams are in excess of 200,000 tons per year. 21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species Name: Coca Type: Plant Diversity: 51,220 higher plants per 10,000 km/sq (Colombia) The damage comes from the effects of the deforestation and chemical pollutants introduced into the environment from these activities. The waterways have been clogged with silt running off of the stripped hills and contaminated by the toxic chemicals being dumped into streams by drug processing plants. As a result, the fish population and aquatic plants have been decimated to the point that Dr. Urrelo, an environmentalist working in the area for the past 20 years, has declared the "small rivers dead." The deforestation and cultivation of drug crops is also having an effect on the wildlife of the area, particularly birds. The lack of appropriate habitat has cut the diversity of the bird population dramatically according to environmentalist Dr. Hern, who estimates it as low as 1 percent of its level 30 years ago. Compounding the reduction in habitat, the farmers of drug crops often do not grow subsistence crops and hunt the birds and other animals as food. Plant diversity is also suffering severely with estimates stating that 1/3 of Colombiažs total remaining forestry will be gone within the next five years. 22. Resource Impact and Effect: High and SCALE Even at the current rate of deforestation over 1/3 of all of Colombia's forest will be gone in 5 years, much of the cleared land being abandoned after two or three seasons due to flagging fertility. Little wildlife exists in the rivers or the forests near populated areas making life more difficult for those not participating in the drug trade to prosper or even survive. The soils in the tropical region of Colombia are sand and poor for plant growth underneath the thin topsoil. The deforestation caused by coca and poppy producers and non-existent soil conservation techniques they practice have led several experts to theorize that the region could end up in a situation similar to that of Ethiopia or Somalia within 50 years, i.e. a fast growing population that is larger than the food production can support due to poor agricultural soils or techniques. 23. Urgency and Lifetime: MEDium and 100s of years Tropical jungles are one of the most delicate ecosystems on the planet, easily disrupted and extremely difficult to restore once harmed. The jungle is being destroyed at a rapid rate and in a manner which makes recovery extremely difficult. The soil erosion and destruction of soil microbes necessary for plant growth make this recovery process even longer and more difficult. 24. Substitutes: REHABilitation In this case study there are two aspects to be addressed for substitutional products. The first environmental effect of the coca and poppy growth deals with deforestation, soil erosion, and reductions in bio-diversity. The jungle environment of South America contributes significant supplies of the worldžs oxygen and includes a large proportion of the worldžs species of both plants and animals, neither of these can be substituted for. They can be nurtured back to health if given enough care and active cooperation by the farmers and general industry that use the forest land, including the coca and poppy growers. The second possibility is finding a substitute for cocaine, heroine, poppy or coca. The substitution of the drug crops or the processed drugs would solve some of the environmental degradation, however, most would find this solution unacceptable because it would not solve the social problems related to drug abuse. Rehabilitation has proven to be a problematic solution as most of the patients require multiple sessions of treatment. Even though they do become "clean" for a time, upon leaving the confines of the treatment center the circumstances which encourage them to abuse drugs remain unchanged. F. OTHER FACTORS 25. Culture: Yes The traditional coca leaf use extends back at least to 2,100 BC in the Andes, according to archaeological finds. During the past 4,000 years coca has established a solid niche in the everyday life of rural Andean people, both Indian and those Europeans living there for centuries. The coca leaf contains less than 1% cocaine and has much the same effect as caffeine, therefore, even though cocaine is processed from coca leaves the two products are dramatically different in effects and usage. The use of the coca leaf may be mildly addictive, an effect such as caffeine addiction, but not to the damaging level of cocaine or heroine consumption. Traditionally, the coca leaf has been chewed to relieve fatigue and hunger, as it is a mild stimulant. It also has medical applications through helping to relieve altitude sickness and conserve body heat. It also provides some essential vitamins when consumed. These three characteristics are particularly useful in the mountainous Andes. The coca leaf is also integral to a number of religious and cultural ceremonies. 26. Trans-Boundary: Yes The drug trade is an international problem of both supply and demand. Cocaine and heroine permeates nearly every nation on the globe, either as a grower, a consumer, or a routing nexus between the two. 27. Human Rights: Yes There is a basic freedom issue between the consumption of drugs and their growth or the protection of society as a responsibility of the government to its citizens. 28. Relevant Literature Alternative Coca Reduction Strategies in the Andean Region. Office of Technology Assessment, Congress of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. July 1993, 41-3. BNA International Environment Daily, December 8, 1994. BNA International Environment Daily, January 25, 1995. Clawson, Patrick and Rensselaer Lee, Consequences of the Illegal Drug Trade. USAID. Washington, D.C., 16-7. Clawson, Patrick and Rensselaer Lee. "Crop Substitution in the Andes," Office of National Drug Control Policy, 41. "Colombian Economic Reform: The Impact of Drug Money Laundering within the Colombian Economy," DEA-94072 Drug Intelligence Report, Intelligence Division, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice, September, 1994. Lee, Rensselaer, "Global Reach: The Threat of International Drug Trafficking." Current History, May, 1995, 207-211. San Francisco Chronicle, March 20, 1995. Sweeney, John, "Colombiažs Narco-Democracy Threatens Hemispheric Security." The Heritage Foundation, 1-2. Trends in Developing Economies, The World Bank. 1994. Pp 112. Washington Times, July 17,1994. References |
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