Cocaine's Blood-Stained Trail

From the growers to the dealers to the users, cocaine leaves a long trail of blood.  Cocaine has ravaged the communities where it is grown, it has destroyed the cities where it is distributed, and it wrecks the lives of the individuals and families of those who use it.

Cocaine, is a poison to humanity and to world peace. According to this report:

Far from being a “victimless crime”, use of the illicit drug was supporting paramilitaries who terrorise the Colombian population with kidnappings and landmines, Francisco Santos Calderon said.

Not only that,

Landmines used to protect crops and processing labs were responsible for almost 900 civilian deaths this year in Colombia, which is now has the highest incidence of landmine victims in the world.

FARC and other narco-terror groups also carry out frequent kidnappings of high profile figures such as Ms Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician who was held in jungle captivity for more than six years before her release earlier this year.

Cocaine users are contributing to the destruction of the rain forests, read more here:

The Colombian government says four sq. meters (4.8 sq. yards) of rain forest have to be cleared to produce a gram of cocaine — and 2.2 million hectares (5.44 million acres) of Colombian tropical forest have been cut down to grow coca in the last twenty years.

On every level this drug takes lives, and feeds on the poor and needy for it's transport, with absolutely no regard for human life.  Read here:

Ordinary people are also suffering in Latin America because they are being drawn into drug trafficking, putting their lives at risk by becoming "mules", transporting substances inside their bodies.

There is an excellent movie called Maria Full of Grace, that tells the story of a Colombian, young woman who is lured into becoming a "mule" to help support her impoverished family.  That is the grim reality of cocaine.  A drug that is elevated to such glamorous heights by the rich and famous most likely has been transported into the country in some poor, desperate person's bowels.

Think about that the next time you snort a line.