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Criminalization Of Cocaine Essay

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According to Jon Miller, Stereotypes and prejudice towards the new cocaine consumers seemed to be a major factor in what changed public opinion about cocaine. Politicians and law enforcement officials began doing interviews with journalists discussing how workers were losing their minds, and committing acts of violence because of cocaine. The term “dope fiend” became a buzzword for bigoted law enforcement officials whom often used the term to represent a black man driven wild by cocaine. They made claims that cocaine could make black men incredibly strong. Other rumors were that cocaine caused black men to sexually assault white women and go on killing sprees. The police also took advantage of the situation by using it as an excuse to upgrade their firearms to .38 caliber pistols (Miller, 2013, p. 185). However, fear of violence and racism weren’t alone in the rationale for condemning cocaine. The use of cocaine among women brought up concerns regarding sexual morality. The use of cocaine by prostitutes was covered by the media, and …show more content…

Peru finally criminalized cocaine in 1948, and Bolivia did too by 1961, after handling the 1952 revolution (Gootenberg, 2012, p. 163). Peru wasn’t entirely successful as banning the coca leaf became problematic. Also, locals continued trafficking cocaine after it became illegal, daring to risk personal harm and death for the profits that could be made. Bolivia on the other hand rejected the request to criminalize coca leaves. The Bolivian government’s reasoning was that the coca leaves were entirely different from cocaine. Bolivian coca leaves would find their way into the cocaine market through the Peruvian traffickers (Miller, 2013, p. 188). According to Paul Gootenberg, illegalization of cocaine in South America facilitated the creation and spreading of a new culture rooted in the illicit cocaine trade (Gootenberg, 2012, p.

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