Nature Versus Narco

Andrea Hehn

This article discusses some of the environmental consequences involved with illegal drug production and trade. People don't usually consider the environmental effects of drug use as these effects are often over-shadowed by the loss of human life, but it's still an important issue to consider. Some ways the environment is affected include: land being cleared for growing various drug plants, chemicals used in the manufacture of meth leaking into and harming ecosystems, biologists/ecologists facing encounters with drug traffickers are discouraged from their research/conservation efforts, and people interested in ecotourism (an important part of the economy in some countries) are less likely to travel to places where drug trafficking occurs.