Coca grower in Bolivia drug post

[Eugene]

(BBC News)

Last Updated: Saturday, 28 January 2006, 23:52 GMT

Coca grower in Bolivia drug post

Bolivia's new left-wing government has put a coca grower in charge of the fight against drug
trafficking.

Felipe Caceres was appointed deputy minister for social defence by President Evo Morales -
who was once a coca grower himself.

Mr Caceres is a former mayor of a town in the coca-growing region of Chapare, and owns a small
coca farm there.

Coca is used to make cocaine, but also has widespread ceremonial and medical uses in Bolivia.

Mr Caceres told the BBC he opposes US-backed efforts to eradicate crops across the country.

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Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4658880.stm

[firefox]

1. I would like some coca plants myself

The coca plant is part of South American culture. They see eradicating coca like we would see killing all the cattle in this country and outlawing cheese.

There is a drug warrior mentality driven into people and it demonizes cocaine worthy of prison and the coca plant as something to demonized to. They are just trying ot demonize the indigenous people and the president with their heritage.

Coca has many uses and it is worshiped and part of the natives history. If coca were bad they would not praise it and they would have uprooted the plants centuries ago.

This article is to demonize Morales when he is loved and is the first native President Bolivia has had since the Spanish came. The article could talk about the exploitation of the natural gas that sells for 20% of what it should because western powers screwed the Bolivians. They could tell how the US drug warriors made it law that people on drug charges could be arrested and released only when they prove their innocence.

But no they would rather play on the conditioning of a brainwashed public that still thinks that Len Bias died from cocaine. The retrenching of criminal prohibition based on that lie would be a story of a bigger picture than this "story." See http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn08212004.html

There is still coca in Coca-cola. Go nuts on that with your disbelief- http://www.narconews.com/Issue26/article569.html

[rodeodance]

2. We (USA in general) has made a demon of 'drugs'--you are right.

[IndianaGreen]

3. America's drug problem is in America, not in Bolivia or Colombia

Until we address the demand for drugs, and the underlying reasons for it, we will never be able to manage this problem.

[pitohui]

4. i agree w. him

i don't need coca plants, i live at sea level, however, i have long wished to see an end to usa spraying of necessary crops in foreign countries, coca is pretty much necessity for those who live at such altitudes

does this mean the dea will be back to, once again, waste untold helicopter and officer time on investigating pitohui's house, probably but yr results will be the same

i can support the tobacco grower, the coca grower etc. w.out actually being such a one myself