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LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 28 March 2017

Bolivia: New coca law in Bolivia

President Evo Morales this month promulgated a new coca law which increases the amount of coca permitted to be grown legally to 22,000 hectares (ha). This is nearly double the 12,000ha designated by the previous 1988 law although the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) government, which pursues a drugs policy of ‘Coca Sí, Cocaína No’ (distinguishing between the raw coca leaf, an important symbol of indigenous culture, and cocaine, the illegal narcotic), had tolerated 20,000ha. The new law has raised eyebrows from institutions like the European Union (EU) which has stepped up anti-drugs cooperation with Bolivia since the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was ejected in 2008; a 2013 EU-funded study on the legal uses of coca in Bolivia found 14,705ha should be sufficient to meet traditional demand in the country.

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