International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2018/Spring 2019 | Page 15

International Journal on Criminology
Those who contravene this legislation face prison terms of up to one year and a
fine of €3,750. Furthermore, the sale of such substances can earn a 5-year custodial
sentence and their production, 20 years. Significantly, coca leaves are thus classed
as narcotics, and several French consular services in Latin America have regularly
pointed out that “according to the Order of February 22, 1990, establishing the list
of substances classed as narcotics ([French government bulletin] Journal Officiel,
June 7, 1990), the importation into France and the European Union of coca leaves
or of any derived product or any product containing that substance, is strictly
prohibited."
And like many countries around the world, France approved and ratified
the three United Nations Conventions (1961, 1971, and 1988), which provide a
framework for the various regulations applicable to narcotic substances, along
with those substances classed as psychotropic. But scientific research and ongoing
scholarly investigation into coca leaves has now moved ahead of current international
law–can it seriously be argued, for example, that 45 grams of coca leaves are
the same thing as 45 grams of cocaine?
So what is to be done about this? As the twenty-first century begins, what
position will the international community adopt toward coca leaves, a product
that can be decocainized specifically for export and that is so very useful. It seems
to us that in this third millennium, these are questions that need to be asked.
Population change in millions of inhabitants (Bolivia)
Sources: Census data and others.
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