WHO Project Study Suppressed by the U.S. for 13 Years?!
Filed Under: Environmental News on July 18, 2009
I recently read a report by Devin Powell on one of my favorite websites, LewRockwell.com. That site is mostly politics, but this story has a lot to do with what will concern readers of Aaron’s EnvironMental Corner. What Mr. Powell is revealing is a 13-year coverup by the United States and the World Health Organization (WHO) of a study published in 1995 regarding the uses of cocaine.
The study, funded and carried out by WHO and the United Nations Interregional Institute of Crime Investigation (UNICRI), was begun in 1991 and collected up-to-date information from 22 cities and 19 countries about the uses of coca leaf and its derivatives and how it affected consumers and communities.
Once its publication was announced in WHO and the United Nations, the United States’ ambassador to the UN (Boyer) quickly expressed concern over the results of that study:
“…which seem to make a case for the positive uses of cocaine, claiming that use of the coca leaf did not lead to noticeable damage to mental or physical health, that the positive health effects of the coca leaf chewing might be transferable from traditional settings to other countries and cultures and that coca production provides financial benefits to peasants.” –Boyer, before the General Health Assembly, May 1995
Boyer then threatened that it might lead to a “misunderstanding” and that the U.S. might be required to pull funding from WHO. Specifically because publication of this report would fly into the face of the U.S. drug policies.
Technically, the study is still marked by its originators as “classified” and is not publicly available. It has, however, been leaked–likely due to some concerned scientists.
The paper is available from WikiLeaks (PDF, 75 pages).
Note: I do not advocate the use of drugs, cocaine included. There is a large difference between the manufactured cocaine sold as street drugs and the coca leaf in its natural state. Coca leaves have been used for centuries by South American cultures for various medicinal and other benefits.
