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Newsbrief:
Peruvian
First
Lady
Defends
Coca
3/11/05
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/378/perucoca.shtml
In a February 22 speech at
George Washington University in Washington, DC, Peruvian first lady Elaine
Karp said that coca cannot be stamped out because its use is deeply rooted
in Andean cultures. And furthermore, it's good for you.
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coca seedlings
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"Coca has many, many virtues
in addition to health and ritualistic uses," said Karp, an anthropologist.
Peruvian Indians use the leaf to combat fatigue, fend off hunger, and prevent
altitude sickness, she said, "as part of their way of life and their rituals."
Coca, from which cocaine
is derived, has been cultivated for thousands of years in the Andes, but
is the object of a decades-long US effort to eradicate the crop as part
of its war on drugs. For Indian populations in Bolivia, Colombia,
and Peru, chewing the leaf provides a slight stimulation and euphoria that
has been likened to drinking a strong cup of coffee. Peru, where
an estimated 90% of coca production ends up as cocaine headed for markets
in North America and Europe, is now the world's second largest cocaine
producer after Colombia. The US and the Peruvian government of President
Jaime Toledo are spending tens of millions this year to eradicate coca
crops, but last year the amount of new cultivation exceeded the crops that
were eradicated by a margin of nearly two to one.
According to Karp, the international
demand for coca leaf for illicit cocaine ensures that production will continue.
"It's completely market-driven. The demand exists," she said.
"Coca cannot be completely eradicated."
-- END --
|
Issue #378
-- 3/11/05
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Week:
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for
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of
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Drug
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on
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Newsbrief:
Peruvian
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