Many of you may have noticed the picture of coca leaf tea on my blog, but do not be concerned about my consumption of illicit drugs. Cocaine is produced from the coca leaf, but only after a long complicated process that leaves it in a distorted state far removed from its natural character. The coca leaf forms a significant part of the altiplano diet and has been proven to relieve the effects of altitude sickness and to curb hunger. In addition the coca leaf is important in indigenous rituals.
However, because of the insatiable addiction to cocaine in western countries (eg US, Canada, Europe) exporting coca products such as tea is illegal and growth of the plant is under attack with countries such as the US sending "financial aid" in order to eradicate it. However, attempts in eradication are little more than a waste of tax payer money and an act of violence against the populations that grow coca: coca production has not decreased with the increase in aid, but rather the number of plants has increased with fewer plants being grown in large, easily visible plots and more grown in remote, smaller plots that are more difficult to find and subsequently eliminate.
A better option would be to address the problem of addiction that creates the demand that makes coca a profitable crop. Once the demand for the illicit drug has dropped so will the price and therefore the profitability of coca production. Also, it is more logical to target the chemicals used in the process to convert coca to cocaine (aka large companies) than small coca farmers who are mostly composed of poor campesinos making a living any way they can.
Coca is a justice issue for people in Bolivia and it should be as well for those of us whose countries are pumping large amounts of taxpayer money into its unnecessary eradication. The coca plant is part of God's creation and has many health benefits - perhaps it is the violence of addiction and forced eradication that we need to attack at its roots instead of the coca plant.
2 comments:
Hi Laura, testing comments, great photos!
Wow, that is a really deep thought. I think that attacking the roots of problems are often more appropriate than attacking the out looking results. However, I think that people (governments especially) tend to search for the easiest thing to pump money into and the best thing that they can tell people is that they are eradicating Coca. I agree that it is unfortunate that we are destroying a culture because of our addiction to money and drugs. John (Becca agrees)
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