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

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.