AN ALL-TIME HIGH IN COCAINE PRODUCTION / GEOPOLITICAL FUTURES

An All-Time High in Cocaine Production

This, despite a relatively small area it can made in.

By: Geopolitical Futures

 

More than synthetic drugs and many plant-based drugs, cocaine production is shaped by geography. Coca, the plant from which cocaine is produced, can grow only in a specific environment, one concentrated in the Andes region of South America. Peru, Colombia Bolivia, then, are the only countries that farm it. Despite this, production stands at an all-time high, thanks largely to an increase in cultivated areas in Colombia.

The latest U.N. figures show that there are 25 million cocaine users worldwide. The United States is one of the largest destinations for cocaine shipments, which arrive largely through routes in the Pacific Ocean. Europe is also a major consumer, receiving deliveries mostly from Venezuela and Brazil. And some places in Africa and parts of Asia are driving the growth of new cocaine users.

The financial toll of the cocaine trade is also comes with a human toll. Though cocaine used to be the drug most commonly used in overdoses, it now lags behind only opioids and certain tranquilizers. The highest number of cocaine-related deaths occur in the U.S., followed by  France, Canada, the United Kingdom and Brazil.