Columbia Government: 'No, No, No' to the Coca Spraying

Colombia will suspend aerial fumigation of illegal coca plants in light of a number of studies linking the herbicide used to cancer, a move which marks the end of a decades-long strategy in the country's fight against drug trafficking.
The Andean country is one of the world's biggest producers of cocaine, which is derived from the coca plant. Colombia, which produces some 300 tonnes of cocaine per year, has fumigated illicit coca crops for two decades with financial and technical help from the United States, using the herbicide glyphosate.
The strategy also included spraying of poppies, used to make heroin. Health minister Alejandro Gaviria said, "We've taken the decision by a majority of seven to one, to suspend the spraying of areas with glyphosate." Various scientific reports, including one by the World Health Organization, have suggested that the weed killer is likely carcinogenic to humans.