Sources
Aldhous, Peter. 2006. “Drugs, Crime and a Conservation Crisis.” New Scientist 191 (2567): 6–8.
“The article focuses on the bad impacts of drug production and trafficking on the attempts to protect ecosystems and wildlife. The routes taken by drug smugglers through forests makes considerable damage to the ecosystem. The drug runners keep the officials employed to prevent poaching of wildlife and other marine species in fear. The production of drugs also leads to deforestation and threat to some bird populations” (from author). In any approach towards research of the validity of a new ‘-cene’, it is vital to look at situated confrontations and hot spots of externalities that have been previously explored or utilized, and their success (or lack of). Through the use of this article, we can specifically explore the negative effects on biodiversity and forest growth due to the smuggling and trafficking of illicit drugs.
Allen, Christian M. 2006. “Dangerous Harvest: Drug Plants and the Transformation of Indigenous Landscapes.” Professional Geographer 58 (2): 221–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9272.2006.00528_1.x.
This book presents the externalities that ripple from global drug trade, specifically onto indigenous cultures. “The global drug trade and its associated violence, corruption, and human suffering create global problems that include political and military conflicts, ethnic minority human rights violations, and stresses on economic development. Drug production and eradication affects the stability of many states, shaping and sometimes distorting their foreign policies. External demand for drugs has transformed many indigenous cultures from using local agricultural activity to being enmeshed in complex global problems. Dangerous Harvest presents a global overview of indigenous peoples' relations with drugs. It presents case studies from various cultural landscapes that are involved in drug plant production, trade, and use, and examines historical uses of illicit plant substances. It continues with coverage of eradication efforts, and the environmental impact of drug plant production. In its final chapter, it synthesizes the major points made and forecasts future directions of crop substitution programs, international eradication efforts, and changes in indigenous landscapes. The book helps unveil the farmer, not to glamorize those who grow drug plants but to show the deep historical, cultural, and economic ties between farmer and crop (from author).” Through this depiction, the book will allow for for an idea of global reactions and contributions to the overall effect of cultures, narrowing in our situated context to hot spots of controversy in drug production, specifically in Mexico.
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Beittel, June S. n.d. “Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations,” 32.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) pose the greatest crime threat to the United States, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA’s) National Drug Threat Assessment published in October 2017. These organizations have for years been identified for their strong links to drug trafficking, money laundering, and other violent crimes. These criminal groups have trafficked heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and, increasingly, the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. U.S. overdoses due to opioid consumption sharply increased to a record level in 2016, following the Mexican criminal syndicates expanded control of the heroin and synthetic opioids market. The major DTOs and new crime groups have furthered their expansion into such illicit activity as extortion, kidnapping, and oil theft that costs the government’s oil company more than a billion dollars a year.
Burke, Tom. 2003. “Warning: Drugs Cost the Earth: If You Want to Do Your Bit for the Environment, Stop Snorting and Stop Inhaling. (Narcotics).” New Statesman, June 30, 2003. Academic OneFile.
This short article presents an adverse reaction to “Reports on the war on the illegal drug trade and the environmental costs. Regions of tropical deforestation for coca plants and opium poppies; Statistics on the illegal business; Damage from pesticides and chemicals used to process the crops; The indirect effect of drug money on corruption and criminal activity; View that drug policies have failed to stop the trade in illicit drugs; View that the trade is sustained by recreational drug users and middle-class professionals; Opinion that drug use should be legalized because it is a passing phase in most people” (from author). This article, while simply a news publication, provides a primary source of a personal account and perspective of the externalities being explored in our research of The Narcocene. This controversial view of the subject of drug regulation in the fight against the illicit drug industry provides an adverse approach to the negative ‘abstinence’ of illicit drugs, as well as the health risks related to Monsanto and sprayed herbicides. Using this in our research can help in redirecting our framing question into more situated contextual frameworks.
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Carreón-Arroyo, Gerardo Ceballos, Ana Córdova, Rodolfo Dirzo, Paul R Ehrlich, and Aaron D Flesch. 2018. “Nature Divided, Scientists United: US–Mexico Border Wall Threatens Biodiversity and Binational Conservation.” BioScience 68 (10): 740–43. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy063.
“The article shares the authors' insights about the negative impact of U.S.-Mexico border wall on biodiversity. They argue that the construction of fences and walls along international boundaries threatens wildlife, habitat, and binational conservation. The authors describe three ways in which border infrastructure and security operations threatens biodiversity. They also discusses actions or efforts to minimize the said threats” (from authors). As the drug trade and war increases violence and poses threats to Americans, politicians have been pushing for the implementation of better border security. This article will help us understand how drug production causes negative rippling effects to biodiversity.
Dávalos, Liliana M., and Adriana C. Bejarano. 2008. “Conservation in Conflict: Illegal Drugs versus Habitat in the Americas.” In State of the Wild 2008-2009: A Global Portrait of Wildlife, Wildlands, and Oceans, 218–25. Washington, DC: Island Press. http://www.islandpress.org/bookstore/details.php?prod_id=1205.
“State of the Wild is a biennial series that brings together international conservation experts and writers to discuss emerging issues in the conservation of wildlife and wild places. Essays cover a broad range of topics, from restoring biodiversity on the prairies to mapping the state of the oceans to the conservation impacts of lawlessness and coca cultivation in Colombia. Essay contributions come from people directly involved in on-the-ground conservation efforts and offer a unique and valuable perspective on often-overlooked topics” (from authors). These essays offer us unique, first-person view on the conservation efforts already taking place due to the negative consequences of drug production. This will help us understand the current issues we face and also consider future solutions.
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Del Olmo, Rosa. 1998. “The Ecological Impact of Illicit Drug Cultivation and Crop Eradication Programs in Latin America.” 1998. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1362480698002002007.
This article analyzes “The interaction between the international drug trade and enforcement inspired drug war, generating many negative consequences. One of the most significant yet under-emphasized of these is the impact on the environment. Placing this issue on the agenda for a green criminology, this article describes the history, politics and ecological impact of the use of herbicides and other chemicals in drug-crop eradication programs. It also draws attention to the environmental problems caused by the disposal of chemical wastes produced in the manufacturing of drugs. Further research is needed on these subjects and criminologists and other specialists from beyond Latin America should be contributing to this” (from author). In framing the question of the global illicit drug industry’s influence, not only should we look at the network of drug production and trade, but also the influence that drug enforcement has. The war between regulation and a multi-billion dollar industry itself results in environmental degradation, and the herbicides/chemicals employed from both sides in trying to eradicate the issue. Through the use of this article, we can pose the question of environmental detriment as a ‘green war’ with active interaction.
Durán, E., D. B. Bray, A. Velázquez, and A. Larrazábal. 2011. “Multi-Scale Forest Governance, Deforestation, and Violence in Two Regions of Guerrero, Mexico.” World Development 39 (4): 611–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.08.018.
This article discusses the common held belief “that weaknesses in rights and land tenure is one of the important causes of forest-related violence. We go beyond rights and tenure to examine relationships between deforestation, forest-related violence, and multi-scale forest governance in a situation of secure tenure rights in comparative case studies of four communities in two watersheds in Guerrero, Mexico. Multi-scale forest governance influenced different rates of land use/cover change and lethal violence but cattle and human population are also influential. We suggest that weaknesses at the regional level of forest governance can be compensated by strong national and community governance” (from authors). This article will be extremely important to helping us comprehend the relationship between drug production and cartels, local communities, the government, and environmental impacts. It also provides ideas for future solutions to the many issues stemming from illicit drugs.
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Dyer, Zach. 2014. “Why Land Rights May Hold Key to Curbing Drug Smuggling in Central America.” Christian Science Monitor, March, N.PAG-N.PAG.
This article considers the potential benefits of restoring land rights to indigenous peoples as a method for curbing drug production and distribution. To summarize, “Governments in Central America rely on speedboats, surveillance planes, and militarized police forces to fight drug trafficking that has ravaged the isthmus in recent years. But a low-tech solution might offer another way to prevent smugglers: bolstering indigenous land rights” (from author). This article is helpful to our project because it considers the intersection between drug eradication and indigenous rights, as well as addressing an instrumental aspect of our topic. Additionally, it considers our region of study, and therefore will be helpful in formulating our situated context.
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Guerrero, Erick G., Jorge Ameth Villatoro, Yinfei Kong, Marycarmen Bustos Gamiño, William A. Vega, and Maria Elena Medina Mora. 2014. “Mexicans’ Use of Illicit Drugs in an Era of Drug Reform: National Comparative Analysis by Migrant Status.” The International Journal on Drug Policy 25 (3): 451–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.04.006.
Although rates of illicit drug use are considerably lower in Mexico than in the United States, rates in Mexico have risen significantly. This increase has particular implications for Mexican women and U.S. migrants, who are considered at increased risk of drug use. Due to drug reforms enacted in Mexico in 2008, it is critical to evaluate patterns of drug use among migrants who reside in both regions. We analysed a sample of Mexicans (N= 16,249) surveyed during a national household survey in 2011, the Encuesta Nacional de Adicciones (National Survey of Addictions). Comparative analyses based on Mexicans’ migrant status—(1) never in the United States, (2) visited the United States, or (3) lived in the United States (transnationals)—featured analysis of variance and chi-square global tests. Two multilevel regressions were conducted to determine the relationships among migrant status, women, and illicit drug use. Comparative findings showed significant differences in type and number of drugs used among Mexicans by migrant status. The regression models showed that compared with Mexicans who had never visited the United States, Mexican transnationals were more likely to report having used drugs (OR = 2.453, 95% CI= 1.933, 3.113) and using more illicit drugs (IRR = 2.061, 95% CI = 1.626, 2.613). Women were less likely than men to report having used drugs (OR = 0.187, 95% CI= 0.146, 0.239) and using more illicit drugs (IRR = 0.153, 95% CI = 0.116, 0.202). Overall, the findings support further exploration of risk factors for illicit drug use among Mexican transnationals, who exhibit greater drug use behaviours than Mexicans never in the United States. Because drug reform mandates referrals to treatment for those with recurrent issues of drug use, it is critical for the Mexican government and civic society to develop the capacity to offer evidence-based substance abuse treatment for returning migrants with high-risk drug behaviours.
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Hansen, M. C., P. V. Potapov, R. Moore, M. Hancher, S. A. Turubanova, A. Tyukavina, D. Thau, S. V. Stehman, S. J. Goetz, T. R. Loveland, A. Kommareddy, A. Egorov, L. Chini, C. O. Justice, and J. R. G. Townshend, World Resources. n.d. “Forest Monitoring Designed for Action | Global Forest Watch.” Accessed December 5, 2018. https://www.globalforestwatch.org/.
This source provides in-depth data and images about elements of forest cover change around the world. It not only considers forest loss, but also contains data around areas of concern regarding habitat loss. This data was invaluable to us in helping to determine our specific situated contexts, as all of our areas of study must have been impacted by deforestation. By combining this data with others regarding drug related violence, we were able to paint a detailed picture of how drug-related violence and forest loss interact.
Hodgdon, Benjamin. 2009. “A Future with Forestry.” Earth Island Journal 23 (4): 44–48.
“This article reports on forestry in Mexico and how it is being used to help rural agricultural production and economies. Deforestation, conflicts over cleared land, and drug-smuggling have increased in rural Mexico between 2000 and 2009 and rebuilding forests could be a solution to the problems. Forest development in the Mexican countryside not only helps the environment, but can help rebuild small communities. The article discusses how these communities can combat problems like poverty through creating forestry jobs. Information is also provided on immigration and migration issues and the forests' biodiversity” (from author). This source is helpful to us because it considers our target country, and because it contains information surrounding dimensions on all levels of the question hierarchy. Therefore, it is a very versatile source that can be used no matter which direction we take our questions in.
Janusz, A., K.p. Kirkbride, T.l. Scott, R. Naidu, M.v. Perkins, and M. Megharaj. 2003. “Microbial Degradation of Illicit Drugs, Their Precursors, and Manufacturing by-Products: Implications for Clandestine Drug Laboratory Investigation and Environmental Assessment.” Forensic Science International 134 (1): 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0379-0738(03)00110-5.
“Chemicals associated with clandestine drug laboratories are often disposed of covertly into soil, sewerage systems, or public waste management facilities. There are two significant issues relating to such dumps of materials; they might contain valuable evidence as to drug manufacture, and they might be a source of pollution. This study presents initial findings in relation to the impact microorganisms from environmental sources have upon drugs, their precursors, and manufacturing by-products” (from author). This study is relevant to our research because it concerns the potential environmental impacts that drugs and drug by-products may have on ecosystems. While it is not a perfect source, as it is aimed more towards law enforcement officials than environmentalists, it will be helpful in providing much-needed scientific background for our project.
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Janusz, A., K.p. Kirkbride, T.l. Scott, R. Naidu, M.v. Perkins, and M. Megharaj. 2003. “Microbial Degradation of Illicit Drugs, Their Precursors, and Manufacturing by-Products: Implications for Clandestine Drug Laboratory Investigation and Environmental Assessment.” Forensic Science International 134 (1): 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0379-0738(03)00110-5.
“Chemicals associated with clandestine drug laboratories are often disposed of covertly into soil, sewerage systems, or public waste management facilities. There are two significant issues relating to such dumps of materials; they might contain valuable evidence as to drug manufacture, and they might be a source of pollution. This study presents initial findings in relation to the impact microorganisms from environmental sources have upon drugs, their precursors, and manufacturing by-products” (from author). This study is relevant to our research because it concerns the potential environmental impacts that drugs and drug by-products may have on ecosystems. While it is not a perfect source, as it is aimed more towards law enforcement officials than environmentalists, it will be helpful in providing much-needed scientific background for our project.
Liddick, Don. 2011. Crimes Against Nature: Illegal Industries and the Global Environment. Westport, UNITED STATES: ABC-CLIO, LLC. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/lewisclark/detail.action?docID=678279.
This book “Criticizes U.S. President George W. Bush for his environmental policies. [Confronts the] Effect of the roll-backs of U.S. environmental law launches by the administration of Bush; [Explores the] Percentage of U.S. citizens who wants to strengthen the environmental laws and efforts of the U.S. government to protect the environment” (from author). Similar to previous research on Environmental Justice issues in theorizing the Capitalocene, this book presents the personal valuation of environmental factors and health from United States citizens and government decisions. One of the largest factors necessary in exploring solutions is environmental regulation, which relies on government intervention/action, and well as (hopefully) the public opinion. Here we see how the two interact to enforce and/or change environmental values and, in turn, legislation..
McSweeney, Kendra, Erik A. Nielsen, Matthew J. Taylor, David J. Wrathall, Zoe Pearson, Ophelia Wang, and Spencer T. Plumb. 2014. “Drug Policy as Conservation Policy: Narco-Deforestation.” Science 343 (6170): 489–90. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1244082.
This article present a summation of “The watershed 2013 report, The Drug Problem in the Americas , highlights a shift toward multilateral support for hemispheric drug policy reform. This report by the Organization of American States (OAS) reviews failures of the U.S.-led prohibitionist "war on drugs" and urges states to reconsider orthodox "supply-side" strategies (including interdiction and drug crop eradication), and to focus more on demand-side policy experimentation. In Central America, a key zone of drug transit that is being ripped apart by narco-fueled violence and corruption, the push for reform signals hope that the conditions fueling drug traffickers' profits and corrosive political influence may eventually be dismantled” (from author). Through the analysis of drug policy in regards to deforestation and the need of conservation, it can be helpful to look and those actions previously taken. Using this, we can begin to synthesize solutions to negative environmental externalities, sourcing from an already illegal industry.
Moreno-Sanchez, Rafael, Tanya Buxton-Torres, and Kara Sinbernagel. n.d. “Fragmentation of the Forests in Mexico:” 5: 14.
This paper presents the results of national level assessments of the fragmentation of temperate and tropical forests of Mexico in three dates: 1993, 2003, and 2008. In these assessments, the latest INEGI’s homogenized land cover data-sets and a raster roving window method were used. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), this method produces maps showing five classes of fragmentation of the remaining forest patches. Google EarthTM (GE) is used as a platform to provide access to this digital cartography over the Internet. It is argued that the cartographic results of this study are more informative than traditional numeric estimates of forest fragmentation. It is also argued that the ease of access and visualization capabilities available through GE better contribute to support strategic level planning of the forest areas at national level, as well as forest and environmental education of diverse end users and stakeholders.
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Nuwer, Rachel. n.d. “As Drug Traffickers Move In, Tropical Forests Fall.” Smithsonian. Accessed November 27, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/drug-traffickers-move-tropical-forests-fall-180949547/.
Deforestation in Central America goes hand-in-hand with narcotics operations, which replace forests with airstrips, roads and money-laundering farms.
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Pal, Raktim, Mallavarapu Megharaj, K. Paul Kirkbride, and Ravi Naidu. 2013. “Illicit Drugs and the Environment — A Review.” Science of the Total Environment 463–464 (October): 1079–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.05.086.
This article introduces data about how “Illicit drugs and their metabolites are the latest group of emerging pollutants. Determination of their concentration in environment (such as water bodies, soil, sediment, air) is an indirect tool to estimate the community level consumption of illicit drug and to evaluate potential ecotoxicological impacts from chronic low level exposure. This article critically reviews the occurrence and concentration levels of illicit drugs and their metabolites in different environmental compartments (e.g., wastewater, surface waters, groundwater, drinking water, and ambient air) and their potential impact on the ecosystem. Although the environmental concentrations are not very high, they can potentially impact the human health and ecosystem functioning” (from authors). Given that research on the effects of trace amounts of drugs in ecosystems is rare, this article will provide important context on the adverse effects of drugs in environments overall.
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Peters, Robert, William J Ripple, Christopher Wolf, Matthew Moskwik, Gerardo
“The article shares the authors' insights about the negative impact of U.S.-Mexico border wall on biodiversity. They argue that the construction of fences and walls along international boundaries threatens wildlife, habitat, and binational conservation. The authors describe three ways in which border infrastructure and security operations threatens biodiversity. They also discusses actions or efforts to minimize the said threats” (from authors). This piece is not directly related to the drug trade, but is still quite salient because drug-related violence is one of the major factors that has fed into the militarization of the US-Mexico border. Therefore, one of the drug trades’ more indirect consequences could be creating a political climate in which there is support of a border wall. We feel we would be remiss if we did not consider this facet of our topic.
Rosi-Marshall, E.j., D. Snow, S.l. Bartelt-Hunt, A. Paspalof, and J.l. Tank. 2015. “A Review of Ecological Effects and Environmental Fate of Illicit Drugs in Aquatic Ecosystems.” Journal of Hazardous Materials 282 (January): 18–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.06.062.
This article posits that “Although illicit drugs are detected in surface waters throughout the world, their environmental fate and ecological effects are not well understood...illicit drugs occur in surface waters and aquatic organisms may be affected by these compounds; research is needed that focuses on concentrations of illicit drugs in areas of production and high use, environmental fate of these compounds, and effects of these compounds on aquatic ecosystems at the concentrations that typically occur in the environment” (from author). This article is salient to our research because it considers how the production and distribution of illicit drugs create pollutants. Pollution related to the drug trade is one of the areas we are focusing on, so this article is rather helpful in giving us a broader scientific context of this issue.
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Sesnie, Steven E., Beth Tellman, David Wrathall, Kendra McSweeney, Erik Nielsen, Karina Benessaiah, Ophelia Wang, and Luis Rey. 2017. “A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Forest Loss Related to Cocaine Trafficking in Central America.” Environmental Research Letters 12 (5): 054015. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6fff.
In reading an article written by David Wrathall, an assistant professor in Oregon State University's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, I was led to this research letter, funded by the Open Societies Foundation, presenting the externalities of drug trafficking on deforestation. “A growing body of evidence suggests that criminal activities associated with drug trafficking networks are a progressively important driver of forest loss in Central America. However, the scale at which drug trafficking represents a driver of forest loss is not presently known. We estimated the degree to which narcotics trafficking may contribute to forest loss using an unsupervised spatial clustering of 15 spatial and temporal forest loss patch metrics developed from global forest change data. We distinguished anomalous forest loss from background loss patches for each country exhibiting potential 'narco-capitalized' signatures which showed a statistically significant dissimilarity from other patches in terms of size, timing, and rate of forest loss. We also compared annual anomalous forest loss with the number of cocaine shipments and volume of cocaine seized, lost, or delivered at country- and department-level. For Honduras, results from linear mixed effects models showed a highly significant relationship between anomalous forest loss and the timing of increased drug trafficking (F = 9.90, p = 0.009) that also differed significantly from temporal patterns of background forest loss (t-ratio = 2.98, p = 0.004). Other locations of high forest loss in Central America showed mixed results. The timing of increased trafficking was not significantly related to anomalous forest loss in Guatemala and Nicaragua, but significantly differed in patch size compared to background losses. We estimated that cocaine trafficking could account for between 15% and 30% of annual national forest loss in these three countries over the past decade, and 30% to 60% of loss occurred within nationally and internationally designated protected areas. Cocaine trafficking is likely to have severe and lasting consequences in terms of maintaining moist tropical forest cover in Central America. Addressing forest loss in these and other tropical locations will require a stronger linkage between national and international drug interdiction and conservation policies” (from authors). In assessing the negative impacts on land use and cover change on a global scale, narrowing in to the cocaine industry in Central America and Mexico, it can often be hard to find concrete linkage between a uniform influence based off environmental indicators. Through the use of detailed studies, ERL presents an estimate of the influence trafficking has incurred on Central American landscapes. Using this quantitative data, we will break down the direct landscape shifts in Mexico and surrounding areas due to these illicit networks.
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“Social and Economic Costs of Illicit Drugs.” 1998. UN Chronicle 35 (2): 7.
This article “discusses the social, economic, health and environmental impact of drugs of abuse” (from author). Though it mainly focuses on the sociological impacts of drug use, it gives some general information about environmental issues related to the international drug trade, like deforestation, intensification of drug agriculture, and the use of harmful pesticides in the cultivation of drug derivative plants. This article is helpful in terms of providing general context and giving us points that we can look into more deeply. However, it is somewhat limited in its utility because of the lack of details provided.
Tegel, Simeon. 2018. “Colombia’s Price for Peace: Cocaine and the Environment.” U.S. News - The Report, July, C11–13.
“The article focuses on the concept of deforestation and cocaine production rising, following internal conflict. It focuses on the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia led or influenced the land in the Colombian Amazon. It offers information on cocaine, a drug the FARC trafficked in while preventing the loss of forest cover” (from author). While this article does not focus on drug production in Mexico, it illustrates the connection between production of illicit drugs and how it affects the land use and cover change of the local region. This article will help us understand this relationship and apply the lessons to environmental issues in Mexico.
Tenaglia-Webster, Maria. 2008. Drugs. Greenhaven Publishing LLC.
This book offers a range of essays focused on many facets of the illicit drug trade. The essay that we believe will be most useful to our project is titled "The Production of Drugs is Causing Global Environmental Damage" and was written by the US Drug Enforcement Administration. The article is described as covering many topics from deforestation in rainforests and the United States for drug production to hazardous waste dumping from meth production. We believe that this article will be quite helpful in considering a wider frame of reference of environmental degradation due to the drug trade before we focus in on our situated context.
2014. “This Is Your Forest on Drugs.” Earth Island Journal 29 (2): 10–11.
“The article reports on increased drug interdiction policies in Mexico in order to push drug trafficking organizations farther south and protect forests in Honduras and Guatemalas. The move of drug cartels to establish new trade routes for transporting South American cocaine, looking out remote, lightly populated forest regions with minimal police presence, is mentioned. It adds that the growing presence of drug traffickers in remote Central American forests contribute deforestation” (from author). This article provides broader context about how different countries interact in reaction to the drug trade. From this article, we can draw on the larger issues of drug production and more specifically the environmental consequences.
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Weimer, Daniel. 2017. “The Politics of Contamination: Herbicides, Drug Control, and Environmental Law.” Diplomatic History 41 (5): 847–73. https://doi.org/10.1093/dh/dhx032.
“The article discusses the politics of contamination concerning herbicides and the use of drug control policy as a venue to enact a stronger role for environmental law in U.S. foreign policy in the late 20th century. Particular focus is given on the controversy surrounding the use of paraquat-laced marijuana in the U.S.-Mexican drug crop defoliation program in Mexico from 1975-1979. It states that the controversy depicts the politics of toxic chemicals and public health in the 1970s, and offers insight on the history of extraterritorial application of environmental law, such as the National Environmental Policy Act. Also discussed is Percy Amendment's ban on U.S. support of paraquat spraying due to concerns about the effects of herbicides on humans and the environment” (from author). This article will provide important context for the efforts to control drug production through political policy, and the following effects of these policies.
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