Some countries develop illegal drugs industries, and others do not. Discerning the distinguishing characteristics - social, economic and political - of countries with these industries forms the subject of this study. The author, Francisco E. Thoumi, though trained as an economist, rejects simplistic economic solutions as well as simplistic moral ones as he addresses the Andean countries of Peru, Colombia and Bolivia and the attitudes and responses of the United States. He investigates how the United States and the Andean countries perceive drugs issues; the history, structure and evolution of drug industries in the Andes; the size of the industries in Peru, Colombia and Bolivia; and their economic, political and social effects in each country. Thoumi also addresses the political systems and social characteristics of these countries and why they have been so vulnerable to influence from these industries, and offers case studies of a variety of anti-drug efforts including crop substitution and alternative development, eradication, interdiction of illicit traffic and manufacturing facilities, and extradition to the United States of traffickers.
List of Tables and Figures
Preface
1 Introduction and Overview 1
Pt. I The Illegal Drug Industry's History and Structure
2 Psychoactive Drug Perceptions and Attitudes in the United States and the Andean Countries 15
3 The Socioeconomic Dimensions of Illegal Drug Production 48
4 The Development and Structure of the Illegal Drug Industry in the Andes 79
Pt. II The Effects of the Andean Illegal Drug Industry
5 The Size of the Illegal Drug Industry 141
6 Economic, Environmental, Social, and Political Effects of the Illegal Drug Industry 159
7 The Illegal Drug Industry's Effects in Colombia 181
8 The Illegal Drug Industry's Effects in Bolivia and Peru 232
Pt. III Country Vulnerability to Illegal Drugs
9 Illegal Drugs, Violence, and Social Differences 265
Pt. IV Antidrug Policies
10 The Nature of the Drug Policy Problem 301
11 Policy Case Studies of Alternative Development in Bolivia and International Cooperation in Colombia 315
12 A Short Survey of Antidrug Policies in the Andes and Policy Conclusions 352
References 373
Index