Drug control policies implemented by the Peruvian government have prioritized coca eradication, targeting growers rather than drug traffickers. This approach has failed to disrupt cocaine production and trafficking, and has had disastrous consequences for coca farmers and their families, pushing them deeper into poverty. Amapola Durán Salas is a community leader who advocates for small-scale coca growers in Peru, as a member of the National Confederation of Agricultural Producers of the Coca Basins of Peru (CONPACC). She participated in the Global Forum of Producers of Prohibited Plants, and spoke on behalf of civil society at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs, or UNGASS, in April 2016. The following interview took place during the Sixth Latin American and First Caribbean Conference on Drug Policy in the Dominican Republic in October 2016.
