The Discovery Of Mexico's First Coca Plantation Could Upend The Cocaine Business

[Judi Lynn]

The Discovery Of Mexico's First Coca Plantation Could Upend The Cocaine Business

VICE News

Keegan Hamilton, VICE News
Sep. 17, 2014, 7:03 AM

The Discovery Of Mexico's First Coca Plantation Could Upend The Cocaine Business

Last week marked a troubling first in the long and sordid history of the Mexican drug world. There was no bloodshed, corruption, torture, or any of the grisly hallmarks of the country's ongoing narco war. There was only a plant, or rather many plants — a field of small shrubs with green oval-shaped leaves and bright red berries. For the first time ever in Mexico, the authorities discovered a coca plantation.

Until now, coca — the raw plant material used to manufacture cocaine — has been grown almost exclusively in the Andes. But there is virtually nothing to stop Mexican drug cartels from cultivating the plant domestically, and experts say it's actually surprising that it has taken this long for the crop to migrate north from South America. Now that the shift has seemingly begun, the consequences could be profound.

The coca crop in Mexico was located in Chiapas state in the southwest corner of the country, not far from the border with Guatemala. According to the Mexican newspaper Reforma, 1,639 plants were found on approximately 1,250 square meters of land (about one-third of an acre) near the tiny municipality of Tuxtla Chico.
The crops were destroyed by the Mexican military and border police, and three suspects were detained at a nearby residence where unprocessed coca leaves were also found.

Read more: https://news.vice.com/article/the-discovery-of-mexicos-first-coca-plantation-could-upend-the-cocaine-business#ixzz3DdBStxCu

[delrem]

1. The drug cartels thrive on the illegality of their product.

The USA, in particular of all the countries of the world, makes a special point of prosecuting a "war on drugs" both within and outside its borders. Internally, probably 90% of that "war" is a war of words, of propaganda, of punditry intended to form public opinion. I doubt any part of the US "war on drugs" has a positive effect on actual usage of these illicit drugs within the USA. As with a lot of people, it seems to me that the argument and the evidence suggests that USA's black-vs-white stance on these matters has an overall negative effect.

[appal_jack]

2. Yes, decriminalize it all already.

I know that mj decriminalization is still controversial in some circles, and not many people are ready to hear that coca should follow, but really, could it be any worse than now? With cartels banking billions from the illegal trade (and stockpiling arms, engaging in human trafficking, etc.), would it not be preferable to have all drugs in the open, taxed and inspected for contamination, etc.

I've never tried cocaine, but I did work a short while in Bolivia, and one could find packets of coca tea in offices there, right between the black tea and instant coffee packets. I found it helped with altitude sickness to drink a cup or two.

In my lifetime, I have seen nothing so corrosive to democracy and Constitutional governance than the War on (some) Drugs. It's time to toss this social error into the dustbin of history.

-app

[BrotherIvan]

3. Decriminalize it!

A coca or marijuana or a poppy plant is worth very little until it hits the streets as an illegal drug. The war on drugs is about $$ for the MIC and Law enforcement, nothing more.

[pscot]

4. Decriminalize it!

[GliderGuider]

5. Decriminalize it!