For decades, Colombia has been embroiled in a fifty-year civil war involving the Colombian government, left-wing guerrilla groups, 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 civil war for over fifty years, it is also involved in another war, the war on drugs. Many attempts have been made by the Colombian government to stop cocaine trafficking, to no avail. These attempts involve the Colombian government using crop spraying methods, and other attempts involve jailing drug traffickers to stop the distribution of cocaine. Instead of the multi-faceted problem that is cocaine trafficking, the cultivation and distribution aspects of the cocaine industry are the most feasible to address, as other factors such as government corruption are complex and require an enormous amount of dedication to address. resolved. The Colombian government's attempts to stop the cocaine industry in Colombia have been unsuccessful. The cultivation and distribution of cocaine may be just two of the many factors that contribute to sustaining the drug industry in Colombia, but addressing these factors successfully will result in a decay of the Colombian cocaine industry. To successfully address coca cultivation in Colombia, the Colombian government must implement subsidies for farmers with economic incentives to plant coca crops, and to successfully address cocaine distribution, the Colombian government must leverage extradition. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Colombia is a country in the northwestern corner of the South American continent. It is involved in one of the world's longest civil conflicts. This conflict, which has lasted for over fifty years, 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 mainly financed by drug trafficking, as it represents a source of funding for left-wing guerrilla groups and right-wing paramilitary groups, both of which are against the government, and each other (Dugas 211). Drug trafficking is not only prevalent in Colombia but also extends to the rest of the world. Colombia supplies approximately 80% of the world's cocaine supply and approximately 70% of the United States' cocaine supply (Grossman 11). In fact, Colombia is the world's leading coca grower with 83,000 hectares of coca cultivation in 2011, a 17% decline from 2010, producing a potential 195 tons of pure cocaine (South America: Colombia) Cocaine is the main product circulating in markets in Colombia and around the world and, as already mentioned, responsible for financing the conflict in Colombia, which lasted over fifty years. Cocaine is a natural plant alkaloid produced by the coca plant, a plant grown on Andean slopes by Andean farmers (Robbins 292). In these Andean areas, however, cocaine production has had a negative effect on the environment and raised social problems. These negative effects include loss of forest cover, soil erosion, and water pollution from chemical processing (Robbins 293). However, cocaine doesn't just have environmental effects. Cocaine stimulates the nervous system by interfering with the dopamine cycle, dopamine being a chemical substance present in the body responsible forfeeling of pleasure. Therefore, cocaine allows for the experience of pleasure (Robbins 293). Doctors and chemists administered cocaine to themselves and others in hopes of becoming a “panacea miracle 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 does not have physical addictive properties, the psychological addiction associated with its continued use can be just as severe as any physical addiction (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, in hopes of stopping drug trafficking in Colombia and the conflict between the government Colombian and non-governmental military groups. It was signed into law in 2000 and included many methods, one of which was 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 grassland management. Sometimes herbicides are used not to protect crops, but, [in the case of coca crops in Colombia,] to reduce the amount or height of vegetation (Freedman 856). Aerial crop spraying involved the spraying of Roundup, or by its chemical name, glyphosate. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in numerous herbicide formulations and is one of the most widely used pesticides in the world. It is used primarily for agricultural uses, industrial uses, ornamental gardens, and residential weed management (Carrasquilla 47). Due to economic and health concerns, the use of aerial spraying was discontinued in 2015. However, in 2016, aerial 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 block their distribution: extradition. By definition, extradition is “the procedure by which a state or nation, after receiving a formal request from another state or nation, surrenders to that second jurisdiction an individual accused or convicted of a crime in that jurisdiction.” At the national level, extradition between countries, extradition is usually handled through treaties. As for the Colombia-United States treaty, the treaty was signed in 1979 and entered into force in 1982 (Extradition Treaty with Colombia). Colombia has not only extradited drug traffickers, but left-wing guerrilla members and right-wing paramilitaries have also been extradited to the United States. This approach by the Colombian government appears to be the only effective approach in managing cocaine distribution by drug traffickers, as there is a lot of corruption at many levels of government, making it difficult for those convicted of crimes to be arrested by the authorities . The drug industry in Colombia is the cause of more than fifty years of unrest and conflict. The Colombian government, along with aid from the United States, has made many attempts to subvert the influence of the cocaine industry in Colombia, to no avail. The drug issue in Colombia is multifaceted as it involves many other factors such as government corruption. Forsuccessfully address this problem, the Colombian government needs to reevaluate its current attempts to solve the problem and make some changes, as it is evident that approaches aimed at reducing the cultivation and distribution of cocaine are not being successful. As already mentioned, the Colombian government and the United States have implemented the “Colombia Plan,” an approach to stop coca cultivation at the source, using aerial spraying methods. These methods, however, are ineffective as the range of these aircraft is limited, the chemicals used have a negative effect on the environment and humans, and new strains of the coca plant will make this approach obsolete. One of the problems with the aerial crop spraying approach is the accessibility and reach of the planes that routinely spray coca crops. Many of the coca fields are located in areas controlled by guerrilla organizations that have the firepower to shoot down planes spraying the crops. There are helicopters flying alongside these planes providing protection, but these helicopters have a much shorter range from airports than planes, limiting the reach of the chemical spray (Kirkpatrick 6). This means aerial spraying planes can't get too far without protection, limiting the range within which herbicides can be sprayed. This results in the creation of coca plantations in remote areas, such as mountains, where these planes have no range. Regardless of the eradication rate of crop spraying methods, crop spraying will never be effective if it fails to reach the areas responsible for growing cocaine. Even if these planes had the means to reach these remote areas, the spraying of coca crops has negative effects on the environment and humans. For starters, wind and other factors interfere with the spraying of herbicides, pushing the chemicals onto legal crops, as well as humans and animals (Kirkpatrick 6). A study conducted by the United States government demonstrated that these herbicides not only “eliminate parasites, but also affect local ecosystems, particularly bodies of water, thus endangering the lives of many species, especially birds, and reducing the life of animals considerably." soil, wildlife and benign insects, necessary to maintain a natural balance” (Evaluation of effects... 1.2). Furthermore, these chemicals are capable of contaminating the sources of drinking water that humans and animals drink, the sources of water bodies, rivers and seas (Assessment of effects… 1.2). Regarding direct effects on humans, if glyphosate is inhaled it can cause irritation to the nose and throat, if it comes into contact with the eyes it can cause irritation and if it comes into contact with the skin it can cause sensitivity, slight irritation, and photosensitivity (1.3.1). These herbicides have been shown to be unsafe for the environment, wildlife, or humans, showing that while aerial crop spraying can be effective in combating coca crop cultivation, it also affects nearby crops, wildlife and negatively affects humans. Although aerial crop spraying has not had disastrous effects on the environment or humans, there is a relatively new strain of coca plant called Boliviana negra, which is resistant to the main chemical used in aerial crop spraying herbicides. crops, glyphosate. Not much research has been done on the new strain, but it is speculated that the coca plant has been genetically modified to resist theglyphosate. Introduced as part of “Plan Colombia,” aerial crop spraying may have worked for a while in its efforts to eradicate coca plants at the source, but the negatives outweigh the positives. There isn't much space when it comes to where planes can travel, herbicides have negative effects on the environment and humans, and there is a new strain of coca plant that resists major chemicals used in herbicides to aerial spraying of crops. The Colombian government must adopt a new method to combat cocaine cultivation, as herbicide measures no longer hold up. The Colombian government's attempts to arrest drug traffickers have been unsuccessful. Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, one of the world's most notorious drug traffickers, allegedly bribed, intimidated, and killed law enforcement officials and judges to escape trial in Colombia (Robbins 299). Profits from drug trafficking enabled system-penetrating 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 various levels of government were prone to corruption . A phrase commonly used by drug traffickers was “plata o plomo,” roughly translated to “silver or lead,” implying that one must take the bribe or get the bullet. Between 1981 and 1986, over 50 judges, including a dozen Supreme Court justices, were murdered, and a judge who handled a drug case was bombarded with death threats if he refused to take a bribe (Bagley 83 ). Army raids and property confiscations from alleged traffickers have eliminated most of the huge cocaine processing complexes, but they haven't helped. Drug traffickers increased their use of bribery, intimidation, and murder to insulate themselves from prosecution and generously rewarded their followers to ensure their loyalty (Bagley 83). With death threats, assassinations and corruption, drug traffickers have made it nearly impossible for the Colombian government to resolve their apprehension. One of the biggest tools used by drug traffickers was bribery, and it appeared to be very useful as it exercised intimidation tactics and allowed drug traffickers to evade authorities and prevent justice from being done. It is evident that the Colombian government's attempts to use aerial crop spraying methods are no longer considered a reliable, let alone safe, method of addressing the cultivation of coca crops. Since tackling coca cultivation by eradicating it at the source appears not to be working, the Colombian government must take a different approach to get one step closer to the solution. Given the current circumstances, manual eradication of coca crops does not seem feasible, so the Colombian government needs to step back and deal with coca farmers instead. One solution regarding coca farmers can be adopted to hinder the cultivation of coca crops is to implement subsidies. Most coca farmers grow coca thanks to economic incentives. This solution will not include farmers forced to grow coca by drug traffickers, guerrillas and paramilitaries. Considering that coca farmers grow coca crops because legal crops are not profitable enough to support their families, the government may be able to provide subsidies to farmers to promote the cultivation of legal crops, instead of coca cultivation. Another method that can be implemented along with this approach is to provide.