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Coca and Cocaine: Their Role in “Traditional” Cultures in South America

This article examines alternatives to the War on Drugs through a comparative analysis of attitudes toward coca and cocaine in South America. Two regions of traditional coca use and cultivation — northwest Amazonas state in Brazil and the department of Cusco in Peru — are compared to highlight the differences between Peruvian and Brazilian attitudes toward coca and ethnic identity. Formulations based on a rigid dichotomy between “good” coca and “bad” cocaine are shown to confuse morality with purely practical considerations. Rather than a simple distinction between substances, the experience of indigenous drug users in South America points toward greater understanding of the importance of cultural values in controlling any kind of drug consumption, and recognition of the long-term effectiveness of “user-friendly” strategies of prevention.