Breaking a Bi-Regional Addicion: Theories for the REduction of the Coca/Cocaine Trade

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2009

Department

Program

Bachelor's Degree

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

Collection may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.

Abstract

Coming into the world of college academia as a freshman, dedicated to resolving the troubles plaguing our world, I promised myself that my scholastic exploits would not look singularly at problems, but would investigate proactive solutions as well. I had stumbled across the topic of Andean cocaine production a year previously in an article that described the horrors that Bolivian communities face as a result of cocaine production. It seemed an interesting research topic, since there are clearly two sides with vastly different perspectives involved in the coca/cocaine trade: the Andean region, where cocaine is produced, and the United States, where it is predominantly consumed. Therefore, my paper looks at the two competing theories for the reduction of the coca/cocaine trade: supply-side and demand-side eradication, and concludes that in fact alternative crop development, an alternative to supply-side eradication, is actually the most viable method.