Posted on 05/15/2015 9:39:32 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — The government of Colombia on Thursday night rejected a major tool in the American-backed antidrug campaign — ordering a halt to the aerial spraying of the country’s vast illegal plantings of coca, the crop used to make cocaine, citing concerns that the spray causes cancer.
The decision ends a program that has continued for more than two decades, raising questions about the viability of long-accepted strategies in the war on drugs in the region.
Colombia is one of the closest allies of the United States in Latin America and its most stalwart partner on antidrug policy, but the change of strategy has the potential to add a new element of tension to the relationship.
Just last week, American officials warned that the amount of land used to grow coca in Colombia grew by 39 percent last year as aerial spraying to kill or stunt the crop, already a contentious issue here, declined. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The New York Times is about to wet itself.
Ooooo, there’s a rift. Another nation defies the U. S. Como delicioso...
The spraying must be a massive undertaking. So Colombia decided to discontinue the program. It is a sovereign nation.
THe USA pays Columbia $2.5 Billion a year, $2.0 billion of which goes to the Columbia military and police. We've been financing this program since 1961.
In addition, the U.S. has also been involved in the development of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum to wipe out coca. In 2000, the Congress of the United States approved use of Fusarium as a biological control agent to kill coca crops in Colombia (and another fungus to kill opium poppies in Afghanistan), but these plans were canceled by then-President Clinton, who was concerned that the unilateral use of a biological agent would be perceived by the rest of the world as biological warfare. The Andean nations have since banned its use throughout the region.
Spraying and eradication.
Another example of government ignorance of the law of supply and demand.
Feh.
If folks are dumb enough to snort purified alkaloid stimulants, I say give ‘em what they want.
In spades.
Let them snort purified nicotine or caffeine ...
Maybe Obama can get Michelle to give ‘em a nasty hashtag.
I would rather treat drug addicts than have my rights taken away by the iron fist of government.
Oh no! There will be an increase in the supply of cocaine and prices will fall financially harming drug cartels. Hopefully there will be a TARP bailout.
I’m sure Monsanto is making a hefty profit on this. As I doubt our crony capitalist would allow the Columbian government to use generic Roundup.
I have not yet found where the Congress was given the authority to ban “drugs”, or to create a “Drug Enforcement Agency”. It has to be in Article 1, or in one of the Amendments ... but I just can’t seem to locate it.
well hopefully we’ll start to see better prices here...
Looking at this from the point of view of Columbia, why should they defoliate large swaths of jungle/forest with possibly toxic chemicals just because Americans (and Canadians, and other countries, too) have a huge demand for cocaine?
Cui Bono? Who gains from high cocaine prices due to lower supplies?
citing concerns that the spray causes cancerIOW, known by the state of California to cause cancer. Another Pelosi Policy Success Story.
http://articles.philly.com/1988-06-02/news/26265271_1_spraying-of-coca-crops-eli-lilly-drug-fighter
I’m not sure who benefits from that. Some producers/distributors, I suppose, although presumably others will have lost their crops.
I think the Columbian government was willing to go along with this in the past partly because they say cocaine as a funding source for the FARC rebels, which they wanted to cut off. The political situation has changed somewhat in recent years in Columbia, as I understand it.
Well, well. Look at what we have here in this thread.
Many real men went through a lot while decreasing the supply of cocaine to the U.S.A. from Colombia. Some gave their lives.
So the gangsters of bipartisan politics are completing their process of legitimizing local American drug bosses, making them effectively immune to the judicial system and increasing their supply of drugs from other countries. The rich money-fronters (even those local yocal bosses in small towns) have it their way for now.
That leaves families and friends of victims to their own resources for dealing with the problem. The courts are also useless and corrupt.
And Democrat, Republican, Libertarian: same thing—all criminals!
Have fun. Enjoy the interesting times.
A constitutional amendment was required before the federal government could outlaw alcohol. Why should marijuana or any other drug be treated differently?
The original federal drug laws passes when Wilson was president was ruled unconstitutional in the 1930s. The new drug law was passed and never challenged because FDR threatened to increase the size of the Supreme Court and load it up with lackeys.
Apparently the program hasn’t worked very well since the flow of large quantities of cocaine from Columbia has never ceased.
Napalm instead.
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