During the 1970s, Colombia became well known, as one of the world's most important drug processing, production, and distribution centers for marijuana and cocaine. The shrubs and plants from which both drugs are derived from and processed has been well known in Colombia for centuries, but until the 1970s drug refiners and traffickers had not taken full advantage.

The chewing of coca leaves was very well known in the South American Inca Empire in the 11th century. The Incas, the Colombian Chibchas and other local ethnic groups have always attributed mythical and religious power to the bush and to the alkaloids that were extracted by its leaves by chewing on them. The existence of a drug, cocaine, which could be chemically extracted from large volumes of leaves was not discovered until 1884 by an Austrian ophthalmologist.

Marijuana is a drug extracted from hemp, a plan

Colombia has not always been a violent country. It should be noted that in the past, Colombia experienced periods of peace and tranquillity. During this time, the levels of violence were lower than many European and American Countries. Colombia has gained international fame as one of the major centers in the world for drug trafficking. Anytime a country has a problem with drug trafficking, crime is always high. In 1973, homicide was the seventh highest cause from death, but since has become the first since 1990. More than 165,000 have had a violent death between 1980 and 1990. During this decade, the homicide rate was 77.5% per 100,000 people. In comparison, the United States has been regarded as a violent country, but yet the homicide rate was only 8.0%. Contributing to this violence in Colombia is the possession of firearms. Colombians possess more than three million firearms, and more than half is possessed illegally. This adds greatly to the crime and violence in Colombia (Posada-Carbo).

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Approximate Word count = 1994
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)