cannabisnews.com: The Other Drug War 





The Other Drug War 
Posted by FoM on April 22, 2002 at 16:43:48 PT
By John P. Walters 
Source: Oregonian
We know that illegal drugs do a great deal of harm -- to our bodies, our minds, and our communities. But there's another harm associated with illegal drugs: The billions of dollars Americans spend on drugs each year take a horrific toll on some of the most fragile and diverse ecosystems on the planet. Consider the Andes and Amazonian regions of South America. In countries such as Colombia and Peru, astonishing environmental riches abound. 
The Huallaga region of Peru may be the world's richest in all forms of fauna, hosting record numbers of species among butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Colombia contains roughly 10 percent of the Earth's biodiversity, second only to Brazil. But that diversity is rapidly being destroyed. Environmental journalist Stephanie Joyce, reporting in International Wildlife, described what she saw in the Andean region: "a devastated landscape . . . an accordion of scarred red hillsides dotted with rotting tree stumps. The forest has disappeared as far as the eye can see." Who cut down the forest, wiped out the fragile wildlife, depleted the soil and left behind a chemically poisoned scar that had once been rain forest? It's a tragic story of greed and dependency. But the culprit here isn't a rapacious corporation. It's our demand for illegal drugs. It is time we look at the real, far-reaching consequences of our drug use and the damage we are doing to ourselves and to our world. The nations and our own government have tried to curtail cocaine production by spraying coca fields with glyphosate, the chemical compound that has been used safely by millions of Americans for years. But our spraying is not the engine driving all this environmental destruction; it's the growing and processing of cocaine itself. Illegal drug manufacturers, obviously, follow no environmental or safety rules. U.S. residents consume nearly 260 metric tons of cocaine every year, grown and chemically processed in the fragile environments of South America. The pattern of coca growing depends on the use of highly destructive "slash and burn" agriculture. Forests are burned, coca planted and when fields become sterile, new fields are cleared deeper in the forest. The illicit coca crop is produced mainly by large-scale industrial growers who, in their quest for profits, cause severe environmental damage in virgin growing areas. The result has been the destruction of 2.4 million hectares of fragile tropical forest in the Andean region over the last 20 years. In Peru, 10 percent of the total rain forest destruction in the last century is due to illegal drugs. In addition, the powerful chemical agents applied by the growers further ruin the soil. It is estimated that 600 million liters of so-called precursor chemicals are used annually in South America for cocaine production. To increase yields, coca growers use highly poisonous herbicides and pesticides, including paraquat. Processors also indiscriminately discard enormous amounts of gasoline, kerosene, sulfuric acid, ammonia, sodium bicarbonate, potassium carbonate, acetone, ether, and lime onto the ground and into nearby waterways. The National Agrarian University of Peru reports that "the rivers and streams of the Upper Huallaga Valley are literally flooded, year after year, with vast quantities of toxic waste and pollution. Fisheries and all forms of life are almost totally destroyed in the small streams." The coca trade has been especially damaging in Colombia, which has lost roughly 3 million acres of tropical rain forest. Every year processors dump over 370,000 tons of chemicals into the environment with jungle laboratories sending more than 20 million litres of toxins into the nearby tributaries that feed the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. Affected waterways are almost entirely devoid of many species of aquatic plant and animal life. There is a compelling human toll as well. Poor campesinos spray the fields accompanied by their children, who walk around barefoot. Their wives, many of them nursing mothers, will clean out the spraying equipment, exposing themselves to these highly toxic chemicals. Cocaine from distant nations is not our only problem. Methamphetamine labs here at home leave poisonous scars, draining the environmental clean-up budgets of many municipalities. Each pound of meth production generates five or six pounds of hazardous waste. Deadly laboratory by-products are sometimes dumped directly into water wells, spreading into domestic water and farm irrigation systems. Americans consumer a huge portion of the earth's resources. But Americans also are an idealistic people. Today, Earth Day, we celebrate that idealism by focusing on our role as environmental stewards. People can be educated to care about the consequences of their habits and become more sensitive to their impact on the planet. Reducing the demand for illegal drugs is one way we can ease the pressure on some of our most fragile natural habitats. John P. Walters is director of National Drug Control Policy. Source: Oregonian, The (OR)Author: John P. Walters Published: April 22, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Oregonian Contact: letters news.oregonian.com Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Colombia Drug War Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/colombia.htm Military Opposes Spraying Poppies http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12356.shtmlDrug War Spraying Colombia To Death http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12171.shtmlWaging Chemical Warfare in Colombia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9029.shtml 
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Comment #11 posted by observer on April 23, 2002 at 09:38:20 PT
Walters, Hypocrite
The coca trade has been especially damaging in Colombia, which has lost roughly 3 million acres of tropical rain forest.Earth to Czar: forgetting about the banned glyophosate (Roundup) formulation that the US is poisoning Colombia with? Of course ... this two-bit propagandist is not interersted in *that*: he is only interested in one-liners that appear to prop up government dictates. The government is directly poisoning Colombia, and govt drug policy makes it attractive for farmers to drop back in the jungle farther and farther each year to plant coca. Blame prohibitionists, not users.Methamphetamine labs here at home leave poisonous scars, draining the environmental clean-up budgets of many municipalities.-- said as his government pumps millions of pounds of methamphetamine and Ritalin forcibly down kids' throats to make them more manageable by 'teachers' (i.e. government educator/jailer/snitches). Notice Walters moaning about Hoffmann-LaRoach or Squibb? Nah. That would dilute the propaganda.Stinking hypocrite. Someone, please call him on it!
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Comment #10 posted by kaptinemo on April 23, 2002 at 07:45:50 PT:
How laughably ham-handed
Ever listen to two people from different countries who have only a basic grasp of the other's langiage, trying to have a conversation? It's especially funny when someone who believes that they have a perfect command of the language and customs arrives and finds how mistaken he is.Mr. Walters is making the same mistake...with people who know he's making it.As yourself this question: why is an avowed anti-environmentalist (Walters is a founding member of the Federalist Society, which is out to gut legal mechanisms available to environmentalist groups to block corporate juggernauts from raping at will) trying to make noises as if he is oh-so-concerned for the environment? Why is he trying to seemingly ingratiate himself with the presumably environmentally conscious denizens of Oregon?The answer is here: Fed Review of Marijuana Baffles Oregon Officials http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/12/thread12342.shtmlOl' John is prepping the good people of Oregon to feel the Fed legal jackboot, attempting to soften them up by appearing to be the voice of sweet reason. He seeks (too late!) to try to pre-empt the inevitable examinations of his anti-environmental biases by appealing to 'God and Country'. Just one problem; most people involved in the environmental field know his track record. So, in effect, he is trying to sell fur coats to animal rights activists. And will have as much success.
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Comment #9 posted by el_toonces on April 23, 2002 at 07:45:12 PT:
But Doc!
Aren't you going to let everyone know whose "mini-me" you introduced yourself as? I thought it was pretty funny for what it's worth:).Be well.El
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on April 22, 2002 at 22:30:00 PT
SoberStoner 
It's ok. I understand. I feel such a heavy sad feeling in my chest for our earth. My favorite programs on tv are about the ocean and the beautiful fish etc. that we can see and programs on Archeology. I like to watch programs to see how we match up in our "civilized society" and we miss the mark and are arrogant and have no concept of what is happening around us to the environment and we all are suffering for it and it will get worse.
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Comment #7 posted by SoberStoner on April 22, 2002 at 22:14:36 PT:
Look in the mirror
It is time we look at the real, far-reaching consequences of our drug use and the damage we are doing to ourselves and to our world. 
Yes, look in the mirror and see how your idiocy is destroying the planet you moron...too bad you're blind to anything that doesnt involve making your wallet fatter..i hope someone sprays glycophosphate on you, so you can see exactly how you're treating the people of columbia you worthless piece of rat shit.I'm sorry everyone, but this is just too much..it's either vent here or focus my rage somewhere else, and the only thing around is my cat, and i dont believe in harming any other innocent living beings, so pardon the language..FoM, delete these last two posts if you feel you should.
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Comment #6 posted by SoberStoner on April 22, 2002 at 22:07:18 PT:
sigh...
This is great..in one sentance he claims to care about the environment and says how badly it is being destroyed, and a few sentances later he ADMITS that our government is spraying.....DEFOLIANT!!!!!!WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH AMERICA?!?!?!Is our MTV ADD-addled brain groupthink conciousness not able to comprehend that he is admitting to destroying the very forests he pretends to care about???If there was ever a more perfect example of Orwellian doublethink, I'm not sure what it is."You are destroying these rainforests because you do drugs."
"I am saving these rainforests by spraying defoliants on it" argh....the U$A is doomed...there are 2 outcomes if this course remains the same for 100 years...the U$A will destroy the planet, or destroy itself...right now, I'm praying it will just destory itself, then maybe some people will actually start to use the damn brains again.SS
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Comment #5 posted by Ethan Russo MD on April 22, 2002 at 20:03:00 PT:
John Walters
Ethan Nadelmann had a fabulous line at NORML:He called John Walters nothing more than William Bennett's Mini-Me.
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Comment #4 posted by Dark Star on April 22, 2002 at 20:01:44 PT
Oh, Sure
The idea that John Walters cares a rat's rectum about the environment is the height of absurdity. This piece was written for one reason only: it's propaganda value.If he wants to prevent agriculture in coke, there's one way to do it: legalize it, and deflate the price. 
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Comment #3 posted by Lehder on April 22, 2002 at 18:46:37 PT
the usual error reduces this article to propaganda
Just replace 'drugs' and 'drug abuse' and 'drug users' with 'prohibition' or 'war on drugs' and this might be a reasonable article. As it is, it's completely wrong. It's the usual error of scapgoating a class of people for the negative effects of a wrongheaded social policy.
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on April 22, 2002 at 18:39:22 PT
What world do you live in?
This guy seems to think that the environment is important. The conversion of natural resources into money is important. Reason is not important. Health, the ideals of freedom, the constitution, the children, the abuse of the jury system, pragmatism or anything else that does not start with the letters M-O-N-E are not important. Forget idealism. Ravage everything for what it is worth. If we get enough money we can recreate and invent some lifeforms when it is time for things like reason to prevail after this environment is shot. The oceans are rising one/fifth of an inch a year. A lot of islands will completely disappear but that is no concern to the present powers that be. VAAI
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Comment #1 posted by Reverend Nick on April 22, 2002 at 17:33:43 PT:
Terrorists First: now we're rainforest killers!
Somehow soon I'm sure that Mssrs. Hutchenson, Bush and Walters will be telling people any day now that us "druggies" are responsible for priests wiggling their wienies in little boys heinies,
causing the Arab-Israli conflict,
messing up the economy in Argentina,
the cancellation of "Ally McBeal",
traffic in general,
crumbling schools,
the Enron debacle..and that reefer madness obviously caused otherwise nice young arabic men to steal airplanes and bash them into buildings. I'm gonna go toke another fatty and see if I can somehow create facism in France and finance the clearing of Afgahns out of Afganistan so weathy white guys can build a pipeline there. That will be enough terrorism on my part for the day. Stock tip of the day: Tommorrow's wake n bake will be directed at causing a stock market crash. Go short.
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