Bolivian Government proposes increasing land for legal coca cultivation

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Bolivian Government proposes increasing land for legal coca cultivation

30 January 2017
Talking Drugs

by Sophie Bjorholm Lewis

The Bolivian government plans to expand the legal production of coca leaves, the raw material from which cocaine is produced, in a bid to reduce illegal cultivation of the plants.

Since 2004, the Bolivian government has allowed coca cultivation to take place on up to 12,000 hectares of land. The government has now proposed that a further 8,000 hectares of land be designated for coca leaf production.

Bolivia, the third largest producer of cocaine in the world, originally introduced legal coca cultivation for domestic consumption due to the violence and corruption being caused by the illegal cocaine trade.

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