Coca and cocaine in Peru: an international policy assessment

Using part of a set of ethnographic data gathered over a 5-year period on the political economy of cocaine in Peru, the study examines the impact of coca and cocaine on the social and economic policies of Peru. Before assessing the Peruvian government's role in international drug policy, the article briefly surveys the traditional use of coca and production, trafficking, and abuse of cocaine within the context of a much larger national problem. The paper concludes with a critical evaluation of the limited investment in crop substitution and eradication programs supported by the American government.