Snort coke, shaft the environment, say boffins

[Benga]

Originally Posted by FuBai

Of course, with legalisation and regulation coca production could be done openly and would not have to be hidden in the rainforests. Most plants can be grown anywhere in the world with greenhouse techniques etc, so one could just as easily say that the War on Drugs is an environmental crime. Plus growing coca closer to home reduces "drugs miles" (the drug version of food miles) and allows cutting edge environmentally sound farming and processing techniques.

totally agree with that. Not to mention the liberation of Colombia's politics and economy from the pressure of the cartels. The amounts spent on the illegal drug trade funded mini civil war opposing the government, cartels and paramilitaries guerillas of all sides could be at least partly reinvested in useful projects, including environmental preservation, reforestation, fairer trade etc...
sounds idealistic ?
Peru, which has legal government backed coca growing cooperatives, which don't "eat up the forests" has initiated organic farming projects, and environmental focused education...
Illegal drug production and trade related political and economic instability, violence and environmental disasters are a reality. But if one wants to act against this, in an ethical way, keeping sustainable development issues in mind, this implies looking at the wider picture...

such articles using ethical / political concerns as a call for some kind of "civic boycott" of illegal drugs don't have much weight in my opinion

b

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well said