Bolivian ‘coke’ poses problem
Start off on the right Soot!
>aid
C(lh
a Staten
Editor’s note: Clifford Cheney,
anaging editor of the Logan
erald Journal and former UPI
reporter, recently spent a month in
Bolivia on a journalism exchange
and wrote the following
tterhead stati 0tl |®S ram
article.
gret the ne«,, By CLIFFORD CHENEY
\ve See no altee ' United Press International
iat all women®HULUMANI, Bolivia — The
will refuse tnU'aced hillside rising behind the
isory committ ? at >o was Bright green with this sea-
nent with thi ion s crop of coca leaves, the
mate criticism iource of cocaine for the illicit drug
market in the United States,
appointed tli T ur Bost, a LaPaz banker, took a
<o to continue 'P Bom his glass and nodded to-
tmvemmpni val 'd the crop growing next door to
Womens S , “2f atk,n , ,
; The catnpesinos have been rais-
qiuckly intocH coca here since long before
mceling its first■ me 1 was ever h r eard °f’ he said ‘
■ . I i: | , v It has been one ot their basic crops
111 ince before the time of Christ. To
iisc lie had » » • • i*1 c
r lominntcs hem >„ lt s J USt hke a cr °P ° f t() -
eting that prejlpj 0 ' , > f . >
i . ‘ , The day berore, m the newsroom
L \ . i . i " f one of La Paz’s daily newspapers,
" I u ^ ,ir mii v i an editor took a puff on his
mid hurt thei: ig I eMe then held it up and to i d
where non-developmental objectves
play a significant part in our AID
(Agency for Intenational Develop
ment) programs in Bolivia, said
U.S. Ambassador Paul H. Boeker.
Perhaps half of the coca leaves
grown in Bolivia — in the Yungas
region around Chulumani and the
Chapari region near Cochabamba —
go into the illegal drug market.
First the leaf is ground into a
roads into that previously unculti
vated area.
“We think the domestic demand
for coca, the legitimate market de
mand for chewing and tea, is about
half the supply that is presently
being grown,” said Howard Steele,
a Department of Agriculture
economist assigned to the U.S. Em
bassy.
Steele’s job is to provide the cam-
ie,
“This
is worse
for
than
pastelike “base,” which is then re
fined into cocaine hydrochloride.
Much of the refining and most of the
international distribution takes
place in Colombia.
Coca production has been in-
creasihg in Bolivia in the past few
years, primarily as a result of an ex
panding illegal market in the United
States and Europe. One irony of
American foreign aid to Bolivia is
that the biggest expansion of coca
acreage occurred in the Chapari
after the United States financed new
pesinos with substitute crops and
give them an economically viable al
ternative to growing coca for the il
licit market.
Financed by U.S. foreign aid
payments, the project is one half of a
double-edged effort to fight, at its
source, the traffic of cocaine to the
United States.
The other half is a Bolivian law
enforcement campaign involving
narcotics officers from the U.S.
State and Justice departments.
“There was not any narcotics law
enforcement of any kind done in this
country until this program was
started,” said Lopez, a former
California policeman. “The Boli
vians still lack the records, training
and laws to do an adequate job.”
I visited the headquarters of
Bolivia’s newly organized National
Division for Control of Dangerous
Substances. There I saw the begin
ning of Phase 2 of the U.S.-financed
Narcotics Control Program — regis
tration of coca vendors in the La Paz
area.
Most of the vendors were Aymara
and Quechua Indians, dressed in
simple native clothing — the men
and women standing in line to fill
out forms and have their photo
graphs taken. In coming weeks,
vendors in the rural areas of the
country were to be registered.
Eventually, there would be fines
or imprisonment for those who sold
coca leaves without a license. It
doesn’t make much sense to the
campesinos, but to Lopez and the
other U.S. officials working on the
coca problem in Bolivia, vendor reg
istration is another barrier to stop
the northward flow of illegal
cocaine.
Other barriers include coca taxa
tion, new Bolivian narcotics laws,
customs checkpoints on roads, sta
tioning of narcotics agents around
the country, and registration of coca
growers which was Phase 1 of the
program.
Registration of growers began last
year. Lopez said almost 14,000
growers, an estimated 70 percent of
the total, now are registered with
the Bolivian government.
Eventually, according to the plan,
the cultivation of coca will be re
stricted to the amount needed to
meet legal market demands, he
said.
Cocaine, a stimulant, once was an
ingredient in patent medicines (in
cluding the original Coca-Cola for
mula) and used for treatment of ner
vous conditions and as a local
anesthetic. But there is virtually no
legal market for cocaine today be
cause newer, safer drugs have made
it obsolete.
“If s never been illegal to grow
coca; these people aren’t doing any
thing wrong,” Lopez said. “If we re
going to tell them not to grow coca,
we re going to have to offer them
some viable alternatives.”
Citrus fruits, coffee, tea and cacao
are the most promising alternatives
being studied, Steele said. But the
problem won’t be solved by simply
providing the campesinos with
seeds and instructions and telling
them to change crops.
The campesino can make five
times as much off a crop of coca
leaves as he could make by planting
the same acreage in sugar, beans or
other traditional crops.
By asking any upperclassman why it's smart to trade at Loupot's Bookstore!
You'll hear:
'They carry a lull iine of New & USED BOOKS.
*if I change courses, Loupot's will Refund my money up to a week after the
semester starts.
"Loupot's will buy my books back at the end of the semester.
"Loupot's guarantees all their merchandise — no arguments, just good service.
"Loupot’s has the latest in calculators at the latest prices (in fact, they have
over 20 models to choose from).
"All the calculators are personally guaranteed for 90 days plus the year war
ranty with the company. If anything goes wrong, Loupot's will replace it
over the counter — FREE! (No 2 - 3 week delay!)
LOUPOT’S BOOKSTORE
North Gate — Across form the Post Office
Trade With Lou & SAVE $ $ $ *
in
ts
Oar iosltj 7 Slhi®p
1703 Texas Ave.
20%
Culpepper Plaza
OFF
Towels
Select
Group Of
Placemats
& Napkins
t. a'V" J*-Ir'Tjfy*
% I
't.;dk€
Shower Curtains
WELCOME BACK AGGIES
'We are having an enormous sale. Prices are
slashed up to 75% on all fall and winter shoes.
m about an hoti
one Saturday.
" "' ltl(m s ro \ f ew da y S later, in the lodge of
i;t(>ups ic u ;l ca ]t ava the world’s highest ski
saving the con T t at a di2zying 17,000 feet
lie enedive, i | )OVe sea l eve l j n tJ le Bolivian
- ,nust be ,)uts fles, I sipped on a cup of hot tea
(1 Arlie Scott fewed from coca leaves. "Good for
be ^ at ' ona * titude sickness,” I was told,
n. Obviousfi Indeed, the coca leaf — known in
ves women i , e United States only as the source
l ‘ ard illegal cocaine — is a routine and
position at jtJgral part of the lifestyle of
if the adminiiiivja
has been in Highly educated people in LaPaz
League of W fj n k C oca tea to fight altitude sick-
ident Nancy » ss and to aid digestion. The cam-
re was no cli . s inos of the bleak Altiplano chew
that the ell leaves daily to help them with-
inittee had and hunger and cold. The tin min-
said Nationa! s Lf Omro chew the leaves be-
less and I u<l. they believe the plant pre-
resident Piilanijnts lung disease.
Coca is widely used as a folk re-
edy and pain reliever. The Aym-
-Hnulians use coca leaves, as Gyp-
^C’sjnse tea leaves, to tell fortunes
dpredict the future,
P ] Yet, alongside Bolivia’s traditional
| lllHegal market for the coca leaf as
herb, there is a booming illegal
irket. The biggest purchaser of
tr 11 vw ,ca leaf is an international nar-
IL i LIT vitics smuggling organization which
xluces and sells millions of dollars
tiled Press InierniiBolivian cocaine each year in the
DSE, Calif, -lited States and Europe,
s buying up liOne of the top priorities of the
rael, Germany Sj Embassy in La Paz is to work
tg it in pots to th Bolivian police and other agen-
*ach. s to cut off the flow of cocaine at
Europeans are source.
<1 States and In “The coca problem is one area
COME AND CHECK
OUT OUR NEW
SPRING ARRIVALS
THEY ARE TERRIFIC!
gw
(Shala’s (Shoes
your
fashion shoe store
707 TEXAS
696-1148 AND MORE!
jest.
Goozee, 50,
d s of earth a
[ful in little
ags depicting
and a certft
■ach cup o(
s own “Wee
million U.S
;o me where ii
lots of then!
1 sod from B!)
)enoa soil,
a chunk
r even theif
>1 Aviv,
lie ves the dir |
md longer tk |
because he
joke,
both elent
tli has i
m attached
t to a lady
and, the g;
TEXAS HALL OF FAME
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
★★★★★★★★★★★ ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ ★★★-*
NT.
FLY!
TUESDAYS
LADIES NIGHT
WOMEN: Free
MEN: $2,00
60 oz. Pitcher $1.75 Lowenbrau
2 & 4 Tuesdays “Texas Pride”
1 & 3 Tuesdays to be announced
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Jf
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
WEDNESDAYS
BEER BUST NIGHT
WOMEN: $2.00
MEN: $4.00
Free Draft Beer All Night
Band: “The Debonaires”
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
FRIDAY, JANUARY /&: Augie Meyers & Western Head Band
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
THURSDAYS
HAPPY HOUR NIGHT
Mixed Drinks at Happy Hour Prices|
Night Long!!!
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
*
ny business rig-
1hat will helptr;
.y most people'
be ready. Bes •
ie world froms.
jAdmission: $2.00/Person
|3and: “Texas Pride”
*
+
*
+
3F
*
Jf
Jf
Jf
C 6
EVERY FRIDAY
Beginning January 26
From Austin, Texas
Jess Demaine & Austin”
Admission: $2.00/Person
Pitcher Beer: $1.75
*
*
*
*
jF
34-
34-
3f
34-
3f
34-
3f
34-
34-
34-
34-
34-
34-
.34-
nter Discovery',
•re and after the
ZIATlOf
OLLEGESTAHt
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Johnny Rodriguez, Moe Bandy, Roy Head,
Dave & Sugar, Augie Meyers & Mundo Earwood.
^ m WE HAVE RELAXED OUR RULES! YOU MAY WEAR CAPS & HATS.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ “k