ANTH 106

Political Economy of Coca and Cocaine

and The War on Drugs

Dr Lisa L Wynn
 Traditional uses of coca in Andean region

• Coca chewing part of

Indian culture before
and during Inca
Empire (12th-16th
century).
• Religious significance
of coca for Incas.
• In Bolivia and Peru,
coca continues to
have religious
significance, as well
as a work stimulant
and medicine.
 Growth of global market for coca and cocaine

• International demand for coca and cocaine began in

1860s with growth of market in U.S. and Europe for
tonic medicines and drinks e.g. Vin Mariani, Coca
Cola. (See Robson, Forbidden Drugs, chapt 6)
 Growth of global market for coca and cocaine

• Cocaine extracted from coca in 1860 by German chemist and

promoted by pharmaceutical industry in U.S. and Europe.
Recreational consumption of cocaine also increased. Europe:
restricted in 1886; US: not until early 1900s (1903: no more
cocaine in Coca-Cola)
European enthusiasm for cocaine: The case of Freud

• Freud was an enthusiastic promoter (and pusher) of cocaine. Read

more at: Frederick Crews, 2017. Freud: The Making of an Illusion.
New York: Harry Holt, p.85 and Narratively.com, “That Time Sigmund
Freud Nearly Killed a Patient – and Then Got Hooked on Cocaine.”
https://narratively.com/when-sigmund-freud-got-hooked-on-cocaine
 Growth of global market for coca and cocaine
• Expanding international demand for coca and cocaine
encouraged cultivation of coca outside South America. Dutch
East Indies was the major producer of coca from 1911 to late
1920s.

• Bolivia and Peru regained pre-eminence in coca production

after World War II. Colombia has also become a major coca
producer.
 Cocaine as a transnational commodity chain
(Wilson & Zambrano, LR33)
Cocaine: five-part transnational commodity chain

Part 1: Cultivation

a. Grown by peasants on small family

farms at 300-800 metres altitude.

b. Labour intensive: weeding, pruning,

hand harvesting, processing.
 Cocaine commodity chain (cont.)
• Cultivation (cont.)

Coca is an attractive crop for peasants to grow because:

1. Coca seedlings can be harvested

after just 1 yr of growth
2. Crops can maintain high yields
for up to 40 yrs. w/o fertilizer
3. Tolerates extreme fluctuations
in temperature.
4. Yields up to 4 harvests a year.
5. Low susceptibility to disease.
6. Low perishability.
7. High profit-to-weight ratio.
 Cocaine commodity chain (cont.)
Part 2: Coca paste production

• Undertaken by many small

producers.

• Coca is soaked in pits and

treated with kerosene, lime,
water, sodium bicarbonate
Cocaine-producing plant in Ecuador (Reuters)
and sulphuric acid.

• Coca leaves are trampled by poor labourers (pisadores / pisacocas).

 Top Cocaine Producers

Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/5749/the-globes-top-cocaine-producers/
 Cocaine commodity chain (cont.)
Part 3: Cocaine refining
• Cocaine hydrochloride is produced from coca paste,
hydrochloric acid, ether, acetone, methanol, etc.). Most
refining is in Colombia.

• Cocaine refinement requires considerable capital e.g.

expensive equipment and imported chemicals.
 Cocaine commodity chain (cont.)
Part 4: Cocaine export

• Cocaine export in 1980s dominated by Medellin and Cali ‘cartels’.

• Since 1990s these ‘cartels’ replaced by smaller, low-profile trafficking
organizations which also export heroin to U.S.
• Colombians have dominated cocaine exports due to:
a. Strategic geographic location of Colombia.
b. Large Colombian population in U.S.
c. Weak state unable to control drug traffickers (‘narco-
entrepreneurs’).
 Cocaine commodity chain
Part 5: Distribution in Western markets

United States
• Colombians play important role in
distribution
within the U.S. (especially New York with a
large Colombian population).

Australia
• Australia: small market compared to U.S.
• Larger quantities imported in bulk on ships
from South America. Smaller quantities
sent
through mail or by courier.
• Cocaine imports increased during heroin
‘drought’ (from 2001)
• Cocaine use tied to other drugs’ availability
 Cocaine users worldwide

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/264738/number-of-worldwide-users-of-cocaine-by-region/
 Contemporary coca leaf uses (and tourism!)

• Here are some pictures taken by former ANTH106 student

Isabelle (on Instagram: @yung_iizz) of coca leaves and
coca tea prepared for tourists in Chile.
 Cocaine in Australia: recent trends

Data and graphs source:

http://emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/attachments/2800/Session%208.4.%20A%20Roxburgh%20-%20Trends%20in%20the%20cocaine%20market.pdf
Chalmers J, Matthew-Simmons F, Hughes CE (2013) ‘The Recent Expansion in the Australian Cocaine Market: Who are the new users and what are the harms?’ Current Drug
 Cocaine and addiction
According to Robson (book Forbidden Drugs), one U.K. survey of cocaine
users found:
Cocaine users

14% are likely to be compulsively “addicted” users

28% use the drug more frequently and regularly, spending a considerable amount of time on cocaine-related friends and activities

29% buy their own supplies but use it in a controlled, infrequent way

29% take the drug opportunistically if it happens to be around

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