Juan Forero's article in Saturday's New York Times is an authoritative,well-documented analysis of the failure of drug interdiction in Colombia. Here are the most important facts:
- As much coca is cultivated today in Colombia as was grown at the start of the large-scale aerial fumigation effort in 2000, according to State Department figures.
- Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, the leading sources of coca and cocaine, produce more than enough cocaine to satisfy world demand, and possibly as much as in the mid-1990’s, the United Nations says.
- In the United States, the government’s tracking over the past quarter century shows that the price of cocaine has tumbled and that purity remains high, signs that the drug is as available as ever.
Forero also spoke with several farmers who acknowledge that they grow coca because it is profitable. As for the availability in the US, this says it all:
No matter the statistics, in the South Bronx, addicts and drug counselors at CitiWide Harm Reduction, a needle-exchange and counseling center, said the drug war has made little difference to them.
Addicts say cocaine is as easy to get as ever, and that a gram can be had for $40 or less, down from $100 years ago. Walter Droz, 45, who has used cocaine for 30 years, just shakes his head when he hears claims of progress in Colombia.
“Cocaine availability has gone up, so how can they be so brazen to say it’s working?” he said. “If you know where to look, you can find what you want.”
Meanwhile, billions upon billions will continue to go into this failed policy.
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