How to Grow Coca and Opium Poppies – Global Drug Trafficking pt. 2

This post is part of a blog series about Global Drug Trafficking. Find part one, “Discover the Trade” here. This week, we will discuss the cultivation of the coca plant (cocaine) and the opium poppy (heroin). As designer drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstacy are not cultivated (only organic drugs are), we will not discuss them until the next Global Drug Trafficking post, which will be on the manufacture. The source for all statistical information in these posts is the UNODC – the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime, and in particular the World Drugs Report 2010. Cultivation of the Coca Plant for Cocaine Coca (Erothroxylum Coca) is a plant native to western South America. It has always played a big role in Andean culture, where it is used...