Coca, Bolivia, and Law 1008

There’s a fascinating 5-part series of videos on Bolivia and coca at vbs.tv. Definitely worth watching — I learned quite a bit about the coca leaf. I was particularly interested in Law 1008 — a law written by an American in English controlling what Bolivians could do with their coca leaves. A law, like every drug prohibition law, that had roots in racism and lies. And a law, like every other drug prohibition law, that actually caused the conditions for developing a massive international black market.
The first three parts of the video are the most interesting, and you do have to get past the smarmy fashion disaster correspondent, but it’s worth it.