Coca fields to be fumigated following Colombia killings

AP , BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
Saturday, Jun 19, 2004,Page 6

Colombian anti-narcotics forces plan to fumigate drug fields in a region where leftist rebels this week massacred 34 coca pickers, in an attempt to curb an escalating turf war over the lucrative cocaine trade, authorities said Thursday.

Officials blamed Tuesday's killing in the northeastern Catatumbo region on the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, an organization that is locked in a bitter struggle with right-wing paramilitary militias for control of Catatumbo's coca plantations.

General Alberto Gomez, Colombia's anti-drug chief, said Thursday he hopes to end the fighting and avoid further massacres by destroying as much of the crops as possible. The fumigation will begin in about six weeks, he said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/06/19/2003175698

1. Governments have no right poisoning God's Earth for any reason.
2. All drugs should be legal. Governments have no right putting human beings in dog cages from years to life for doing drugs. Just think of the trillions of dollars wasted on police, lawyers, judges, prisons, and parole officers. I think putting drug offenders in prison actually makes them serious criminals to to do 'real' crimes when they eventually get out.

If we changed the drug laws, the drugs wouldn't be a lucrative business and these thugs wouldn't be killing each other over turf wars.
If drugs were sold in pharmacies instead of on the street, there wouldn't be as many drug overdose deaths either. The strength would be consistent from purchase to purchase, the drugs would be pure, not cut with who-knows-what.