Coca and Cocaine in the Andes

Business & Finance, Economics
Cover of the book Coca and Cocaine in the Andes by Robert Mihelli, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Mihelli ISBN: 9783638236065
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: November 28, 2003
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Robert Mihelli
ISBN: 9783638236065
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: November 28, 2003
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Economic Geography, grade: 1,2 (A+), RWTH Aachen University (Geography Institute), 15 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Andean farmers have good financial reasons for continuing to grow coca, and it is unlikely that theeconomic equation can be substantially altered. Cocaine is as cheap and plentiful as ever on U.S.streets, the biggest market for cocaine; the State Department estimates that 1999 coca productionincreased. The current U.S. retail cocaine market is somewhere between $30 billion and $150 billion. Efforts at interdiction and crop substitution have failed, the former because the amounts of cocaineimported are so large that seizures have little overall impact, the latter both because alternative cropsare intrinsically less lucrative and because there is no infrastructure to bring such crops to market. TheU.S. General Accounting Office report to Congress argued that crop substitution was unlikely tosucceed, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has calculated the cost of raw coca as makingup less than 1 percent of the retail cost of refined cocaine in the U.S. The latter statistic means thattraffickers could easily afford to increase what they pay for raw coca if a shortage occurred, therebystimulating production. In order to explain why the andean Countries prefer to grow coca, it is important to understand that thecoca plant is a part of the culture, as history shows and there is a difference between the existence ofcoca and cocaine. The usage and the production of the coca plant changed in the last hundred years,and the monocultural development carry tremendous illegal capacities. But on the other hand, it isoriginally a cultural heritage. To explain this issue one must know where it is cultivated, why and whatproblems it causes for the Andean Countries, and not only for these countries, but on a globalscale.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Economic Geography, grade: 1,2 (A+), RWTH Aachen University (Geography Institute), 15 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Andean farmers have good financial reasons for continuing to grow coca, and it is unlikely that theeconomic equation can be substantially altered. Cocaine is as cheap and plentiful as ever on U.S.streets, the biggest market for cocaine; the State Department estimates that 1999 coca productionincreased. The current U.S. retail cocaine market is somewhere between $30 billion and $150 billion. Efforts at interdiction and crop substitution have failed, the former because the amounts of cocaineimported are so large that seizures have little overall impact, the latter both because alternative cropsare intrinsically less lucrative and because there is no infrastructure to bring such crops to market. TheU.S. General Accounting Office report to Congress argued that crop substitution was unlikely tosucceed, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has calculated the cost of raw coca as makingup less than 1 percent of the retail cost of refined cocaine in the U.S. The latter statistic means thattraffickers could easily afford to increase what they pay for raw coca if a shortage occurred, therebystimulating production. In order to explain why the andean Countries prefer to grow coca, it is important to understand that thecoca plant is a part of the culture, as history shows and there is a difference between the existence ofcoca and cocaine. The usage and the production of the coca plant changed in the last hundred years,and the monocultural development carry tremendous illegal capacities. But on the other hand, it isoriginally a cultural heritage. To explain this issue one must know where it is cultivated, why and whatproblems it causes for the Andean Countries, and not only for these countries, but on a globalscale.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book The development of the friendship between Horace and Maecenas in the Odes Book I-III by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Der Peloponnesische Krieg bei Thukydides by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Shakespeare's Shylock and attitudes towards him in socio-historical context by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Joseph Ratzinger. The Life of a Pope before he was Pope by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book 'A Streetcar Named Desire' by Tennessee Williams, Scene Nine - An Analysis by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Biblical Ideas in Anne Bradstreet's 'The Flesh and the Spirit' by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Georgian Polyphonic Music by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book The Rise of the Indian Software Industry by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Romantic Elements in Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Third Party Logistics - Development of a selection model to enhance supply chain visibility by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Does the USA represent an empire in international relations? by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Intercultural encounters in foreign language teaching by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book The Korean movie 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring'. Interactions between Geographical Location, Natural Surrounding and Storyline by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Sourcing Process Evaluation Summary by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book The 'national interest' and the transformation of Hungarian foreign politics in the 1980s by Robert Mihelli
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy