Cocaine users destroying the rainforest at 4 square metres a gram

If these people had scant regard for their own health, why would they care about what some South American vice - President has to say. No doubt we all have a part to play in curbing the use of narcotics (via education etc), but seriously, an impassioned plea based on its environment effects isn't going to do the trick.

surely it would have all disappeared by now then.

That's sick.

Drug use is a selfish filthy, cowardly, greedy behavior. I don't see how telling them about the people that die everyday for their habits, or what it's doing to the world and people that live in it will change their behavior one bit.

Hey I know, let's drop all their snorting, smoking hindparts in the middle of that rain forest and see how many of their sorry behinds make it out alive.

I think they should make drugs like this illegal that should stop people wanting to do them. We can then spend more money on policing and imprisoning the users and less on the environment.

"Do you think the environment is enough to get casual coke heads to quit?"

nope nope. If coke users are willing to sacrifice their health for their habit, i think the environment's probably low on the priority list.

Topkitty your description of drug users is discriminatory and vile. You should be ashamed to use language like selfish, cowardly, greedy and filthy.
"Can't face life, go get a hit, can't deal with pressure, just go get high! Sad but true."-- Sounds like you're taking a hit of your own high horse and getting a rush off of believing that you're different or better from anyone else.

We're all in this together, and you are just as much the drug addict as the addict is you. We are all the same and from the many we are one. Get over yourself and the idea that we are separate. That's what got us into this mess in the first place.... and by mess I mean religious and political war, social casting, segregation, discrimination, hate crime and the list goes on.

Perhaps the Columbian government should appeal to the CIA, since it is one of the biggest importers of Cocaine in the United States.

now i can lecture people every time i see them doing a line instead of sitting there awkwardly thinking "why are you doing coke in front of me"

Yeah...I'm just not thinking that the casual coke user is terribly concerned with the environment. Could just be me, though!?

Just let it happen. You can't tell people how to handle their own life. It's their choice. Let them do whatever they want. Duh, doing that makes the world a happy place, as we can all see the massive evidence for that.

Casual coke heads are stupid enough to believe their habits are casual, therefore I don't believe they have the capacity to place amongst themeselves, anyone else's interests.

Idiots, the whole lot of 'em.

Selfish addicts.

awh ruff shit.uncle sam uses it when he wants, IRAN CONTRA OLLY NORTH THE WHOLE MESS IS STILL IN AFFECT.

Maybe they should try to appeal to the governments, who destroy a large percentage of this substance. If the traffickers could do it in the open, then there wouldn't be the crime, deforestation, and in my perspective addiction, because people would see the harm it causes to more than just that homeless guy on the corner.

This is really interesting, although I don't think you can convince cocaine doers to stop for the environment

I wonder how many of the people who are bashing the coke addicts consume products with palm oil and meat in them? Because those two things destroy far more rain forest than cocaine ever will.

Practice what you preach!

No, I don't think this will stop current cocaine users to kick the habit. I do think the environmental portion of drug use should be taught in schools, though, because it just may stop someone from picking up the habit.

also, just wanted to point out that I think this article is a bit misleading - it says coca plant, which has a myriad of uses besides cocaine. if we want to allow the export of South America's coca products, the world needs to be educated and realise cocaine is not grown, it is one of the chemically processed products of the plant.

Seems a bit of a half-hearted plea...whilst I appreciate that Colombia is not just a big coke factory, there's a percentage of it's citizens getting pretty rich from the drug, and without that finance, perhaps the country would be even poorer.

This like so many other subjects is a bottomless pit. People who abuse drugs wrap themselves in a woolly warm blanket of denial. They truly believe they are hurting no one, and like so many other bad habits will ferociously defend it to the end. I am tired of the what about others argument. It's always easier to point the finger at someone else, it's harder to point the finger at your own chest and take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody puts a gun to their heads and forces them to purchase or use drugs. I am equally tired of labeling bad choices and bad habits as a disease. It has become way to easy in this country to label weakness of character as a disease. I suppose one could argue that if they have developed the habit of for running red lights is a disease and therefore they shouldn't get a ticket for it. When does it stop and commonsense set in? Who knows? And saying a country would probably be worse off if we stopped purchasing street drugs just has no merit. I won't be commenting on this subject anymore or accepting email response about it any longer because I don't live in the land of NOD, therefore I just can't understand why anyone would want to screw their own health for a dizzy feeling in the head, that cost to much and last only a few secondsl