User:Godsy/Environmental impacts of the War on Drugs



The "War on Drugs" is an American term used to describe the United States' campaign to reduce the illegal drug trade both domestically and internationally. The environmental impacts of the war on drugs include damage to local ecosystems and the displacement of surrounding communities. Environmental degradation in Latin American countries have prompted protests and sometimes, assassinations of noted environmentalists in the region.

The United States first introduced “The War on Drugs” under the Nixon Administration in an effort to reduce the illegal drug trade. To date, it is estimated that the United States government has spent about $2.5 trillion dollars in their effort to combat illicit drugs. These methods include investing in aid programs to other countries to stop the international flow of drugs, as well as education efforts and increased criminalization on the domestic front.

Environmental Effects
Attempts at mitigating the war on drugs have been on trying to eradicate crops at the source. Coca fumigation programs, administered by the Government of Colombiat and financially backed by the United States, began in 1994 and have sprayed over 4.3 million acres of Colombian territory. Fumigation efforts have the unintended consequences of eradicating surrounding native forests, which may have adverse effects on surrounding ecosystems. To compensate for the loss in yield, some farmers increase their land cultivation, accelerating deforestation. Over the past two decades, the Andean region has experienced the destruction of approximately 6 million acres of rainforest. Monsanto has acknowledged that glyphosate, the main herbicide in crop eradication programs, impact local water supplies and aquatic ecosystems.

Impact on human populations
Aerial fumigation efforts to eradicate coca production seem to increase human displacement, especially indigenous Colombian communities where coca plantations are cultivated. Fumigation efforts inevitably drift into non-target areas, which negatively affect native communities’ food and water supplies. The known possible health effects of glyphosate are allergic reactions, nausea, and impairment to respiratory and digestive systems. The areas chosen for aerial fumigation are generally remote, with low levels of economic development, comprising of poor rural households. Coca crops bring with them violence as local communities clash with the drug producers, which include Mafiosi cartels, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, or paramilitaries. Military force can also degrade the local land, leaving toxins in the areas long after settlement. The effects of ecological degradation forces Andean farmers to be coerced into unfair wages and labor.