Podcast - Reimagining the Drug War Amid Rising Coca Cultivation in Central America
![]() Nicholas Magliocca |
This podcast episode features Nicholas Magliocca, LCLUC Principal Investigator, alongside Kendra McSweeney (Ohio State University) and Fritz Pinnow (Honduras-based journalist and photographer). The discussion centers on the emerging trend of coca leaf cultivation in Central America, a region historically unaffected by this crop, which has been primarily associated with the Andean countries. The speakers delve into environmental and market factors driving coca cultivation in Honduras and Guatemala, where growers benefit from competitive advantages like favorable growing conditions. However, they caution against repeating failed forced eradication policies. Such strategies, unaccompanied by efforts to strengthen governance, land formalization, or poverty reduction, have historically displaced coca cultivation to new areas and exacerbated socioeconomic challenges. The podcast underscores how the inflated price of coca, driven by its illegality, perpetuates poverty and fuels the drug trade, ultimately undermining development in rural areas. For listeners interested in staying informed about drug policy reform, the speakers recommend organizations like Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and The Centre for the Study of Illicit Economies, Violence, and Development (CIVAD). https://www.wola.org/analysis/reimagining-the-drug-war-amid-rising-coca-cultivation-in-central-america/Thursday, October 31, 2024 |