For decades, Colombia has been embroiled in a five-decade civil war against the Colombian government, guerrilla groups of left, right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels, a conflict that can best be described as a power struggle between ideologies. Although the Colombian government has been engaged in a civil war for over fifty years, it is also involved in another war, the war on drugs. Numerous attempts have been made by the Colombian government to put an end to the cocaine trade, to no avail. These attempts involve the Colombian government using crop spraying methods, and other attempts involve imprisoning drug traffickers to stop the distribution of cocaine. Instead of the multi-faceted problem that is the cocaine trade, the cultivation and distribution aspects of the cocaine industry are the most viable to solve, as other factors like government corruption are complex and require immense dedication to resolve. Attempts by the Colombian government to stop the cocaine industry in Colombia have failed. The cultivation and distribution of cocaine may be just two of the many factors that contribute to the continued existence of Colombia's drug industry, but successfully addressing these factors will lead to the decline of the Colombian drug industry. cocaine. To successfully combat coca cultivation in Colombia, the Colombian government must implement subsidies for farmers with economic incentives to plant coca crops, and to successfully combat cocaine distribution, the Colombian government must exploit extradition. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Colombia is a country located on the northwest tip of the South American continent. It is involved in one of the longest civil wars in the world. This conflict, which has lasted more than five decades, involves government military forces, right-wing paramilitary forces, and left-wing guerrilla forces, fighting for land and influence (South America: Colombia; Robbins 299) . The civil war is primarily financed by drug trafficking, as it provides a source of funding for left-wing guerrilla groups and right-wing paramilitary groups, both opposed to the government and each other (Dugas 211). Drug trafficking is not only widespread in Colombia, it also extends to the rest of the world. Colombia supplies about 80% of the world's supply of cocaine and about 70% of that of the United States (Grossman 11). In fact, Colombia is the world's leading coca producer with 83,000 hectares of coca cultivation in 2011, a 17% decrease from 2010, producing a potential 195 tonnes of pure cocaine (South America: Colombia) . Cocaine is the main product circulating on the markets. in Colombia and around the world and, as has been mentioned, responsible for financing the conflict that has lasted for more than five decades in Colombia. Cocaine is a natural plant alkaloid produced from the coca plant, a plant grown on the Andean slopes by Andean farmers (Robbins 292). However, in these Andean regions, cocaine production has had a negative effect on the environment and caused social problems. These negative effects include loss of forest cover, soil erosion, and water pollution from chemical processing (Robbins 293). However, cocaine does not only have effects onthe environment. Cocaine stimulates the nervous system by interfering with the dopamine cycle, dopamine being a chemical in the body responsible for the feeling of pleasure. Thus, cocaine allows you to feel pleasure (Robbins 293). Doctors and chemists administered cocaine to themselves and others in hopes of becoming a “wonder drug.” After approximately 20 years of widespread use in prescription and patent medicine, the harmful effects of cocaine became known and its use as a drug in medical practice was eventually banned (Lerner 979). Although cocaine is not physically addictive, the psychological dependence associated with its continued use can be just as serious as any physical dependence (Attias 637). It later became an illegal drug used for its mood-altering effects, which include psychological dependence, or addiction, euphoria, and short-lived bursts of physical energy (Lerner 979). In 1999, the United States, under the Clinton administration, and the Colombian government proposed "Plan Colombia", a military and diplomatic aid initiative, hoping to end drug trafficking in Colombia and to the conflict between the Colombian government and non-governmental military groups. It was signed into law in 2000 and involved many methods, one being the aerial spraying of coca crops using herbicides. Herbicides are chemical pesticides used to manage vegetation. Herbicides are commonly used to reduce the abundance of weeds. This is the context in which most herbicides are used in agriculture, forestry and turf management. Sometimes herbicides are not used to protect crops, but, [in the case of coca crops in Colombia] to reduce the amount or height of vegetation (Freedman 856). Aerial spraying of crops involved spraying Roundup, or its chemical name, glyphosate. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in a number of herbicide formulations and is one of the most widely used pesticides worldwide. It is mainly used for agricultural, industrial purposes, in ornamental gardens and in residential weed management (Carrasquilla 47). Due to economic and health concerns, the use of aerial crop spraying was discontinued in 2015. However, in 2016, aerial crop spraying made a comeback. In addition to the Colombia-United States coalition seen in "Plan Colombia", there is another tool used to combat drug trafficking, which specifically targets drug traffickers in Colombia in order to curb their distribution: l 'extradition. By definition, extradition is “the procedure by which a State or nation, upon receipt of a formal request from another State or nation, surrenders to that second jurisdiction an individual accused or convicted of a crime in this jurisdiction.” At the national level, extradition between countries is generally managed through treaties. Regarding the Colombia-United States Treaty, the treaty was signed in 1979 and implemented in 1982 (Colombia Extradition Treaty). Colombia has not only extradited drug traffickers, members of left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries have also been extradited to the United States. This approach by the Colombian government appears to be the only effective one in combating the distribution of cocaine by drug traffickers, as there is high corruption at several levels of government, making it difficult for authorities to arrest those found guilty of 'a crime. .- The pharmaceutical industry in Colombia hasgave rise to more than five decades of unrest and conflict. The Colombian government, with assistance from the United States, has made numerous attempts to overturn the influence of the cocaine industry in Colombia, to no avail. Colombia's drug problem is multifaceted because it involves many other factors, such as government corruption. In order to successfully address this problem, the Colombian government must re-evaluate its current attempts to address the problem and make some changes, as it is evident that approaches to restricting the cultivation and distribution of cocaine are not successful. The government and the United States implemented “Plan Colombia,” an approach to stopping coca cultivation at the source, using aerial spraying methods. These methods are ineffective, however, because the range of these planes is limited, the chemicals used have a negative effect on the environment and humans, and new strains of coca will make this approach obsolete. One of the problems with the aerial crop spraying approach is the accessibility and range of aircraft that regularly spray coca crops. Many cocale fields are located in areas controlled by guerrilla organizations that have the firepower to shoot down planes that spray the crops. There are helicopters that fly alongside these planes to provide protection, but these helicopters have a much shorter range from airports than planes, limiting the reach of the chemical spray (Kirkpatrick 6). This means that aerial crop spraying planes cannot go too far without protection, limiting the spraying range of herbicides. This leads to the establishment of coca plantations in remote areas, such as the mountains, where these planes do not have a range. Regardless of the eradication rate of crop spraying methods, crop spraying will never be effective if it cannot reach cocaine growing areas. Even if these planes had the means to reach these remote areas, the spraying of coca crops has negative effects. on the environment and on humans. For starters, wind and other factors interfere with herbicide spraying, causing the chemicals to land on legal crops as well as humans and animals (Kirkpatrick 6). A study by the United States government showed that these herbicides not only "eliminate pests but also affect local ecosystems, including water bodies, thereby endangering the very lives of many species, including birds, and considerably reducing the lives of populations. soil, wildlife and benign insects, which are necessary to maintain a natural balance” (Effects Assessment... 1.2). Additionally, these chemicals are capable of contaminating sources of drinking water that humans and animals drink, sources of water bodies, rivers and seas (Effects Assessment… 1.2). Regarding direct effects on humans, if glyphosate is inhaled it can cause irritation to the nose and throat, if there is contact with the eyes they can become irritated, and if there is On contact with skin, it may cause sensitivity, slight irritation, and photosensitivity (1.3.1). It has been proven that these herbicides are not safe for the environment, wildlife or humans, proving that while aerial crop spraying can be effective in controlling coca cultivation, it also affects crops at proximity, wildlife and negatively affects humans. Although aerial spraying of crops had no effectdisastrous for the environment and humans, there is a relatively new strain of coca called Boliviana negra, which is resistant to the main chemical used in herbicides used in aerial crop spraying, glyphosate. There hasn't been much research into the new strain, but there is speculation that the coca plant has been genetically modified to be resistant to glyphosate. Introduced as part of “Plan Colombia,” aerial crop spraying may have worked for a time in its efforts to eradicate coca plants at the source, but the negatives outweigh the positives. There isn't much choice in where planes can fly, herbicides have negative effects on the environment and humans, and there's a new strain of coca. plant that is resistant to the main chemical found in herbicides used for aerial crop spraying. The Colombian government must implement a new method to combat cocaine cultivation, because herbicide measures no longer hold up. Attempts by the Colombian government to apprehend drug traffickers have been unsuccessful. Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, one of the world's most notorious drug traffickers, bribed, intimidated, and killed law enforcement officials and judges to escape prosecution in Colombia (Robbins 299). Profits from the drug trade have enabled system penetration activities such as lobbying, bribery and legal investments, as well as the exercise of violence and intimidation against the Colombian state ( Lee 66), showing how many individuals at different levels of government were prone to corruption. A common expression used by drug traffickers was "plata o plomo", roughly translated as "silver or lead", insinuating that one must accept the bribe or take the bullet. Between 1981 and 1986, more than 50 judges, including a dozen Supreme Court justices, were assassinated, and a judge overseeing a drug case was bombarded with death threats if he refused to be bribed ( Bagley 83). Military sweeps and confiscations of suspected traffickers' assets have effectively eliminated most of the massive cocaine processing complexes, but that hasn't helped. Drug traffickers increased their use of bribery, intimidation, and murder to protect themselves from prosecution, and rewarded their followers generously to ensure their loyalty (Bagley 83). With death threats, murders and bribes, drug traffickers have made the task almost impossible for the Colombian government. to resolve their apprehension. One of the main tools used by drug traffickers was corruption, and it seemed very useful because it exercised scare tactics and allowed drug traffickers to evade authorities and prevent justice from being served. It is evident that the Colombian government's attempts to rely on aerial crop spraying methods are no longer a reliable, let alone safe, method of dealing with coca cultivation. As it appears that tackling coca cultivation by eradicating it at the source is not working, the Colombian government must take a different approach in order to get closer to a solution. Given the current circumstances, manual eradication of coca crops does not seem feasible, so the Colombian government must take a step back and look after the coca farmers instead. A solution regarding coca producers that can be adopted to hinder coca cultivation. coca crops consist of implementing..