Published in June by Routledge, The Origins of Cocaine begins its narrative in the 1960s, when the governments of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia started encouraging small farmers to settle their countries’ Amazon lowlands. By the 1980s, these very zones were at the heart of an illicit cocaine boom that continues today. Understanding the origins of the phenomenon is crucial to understanding today’s dilemmas.
The Origins of Cocaine is an unusual collaboration between a historian (Gootenberg) and an evolutionary biologist (Dávalos), both professors at Stony Brook University in New York. Join them for a lively discussion moderated by WOLA’s Adam Isacson, who wrote the book’s epilogue. Copies of the book will be available.
Event Details:
Wednesday, July 18
3:00 p.m. EDT
Washington Office on Latin America
1666 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 400
Featuring:
Liliana M. Dávalos, Associate Professor, Stony Brook University
Paul Gootenberg, Distinguished Professor and Department Chair, Stony Brook University
Discussant:
Coletta Youngers, Senior Fellow for Drug Policy, WOLA
Moderated by:
Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight, WOLA
