RE: narcotics/cultural inclusion

Before I read that article I had no idea what coca leaves were. Now I have some questions... is the goal of the agreement to simply abolish the chewing of the leaf, or to limit it's availability to drug lords? Because if, as the article said, they are mistakenly labeling the leaf itself as a narcotic and outlawing it, that is stomping on the cultural traditions. However I believe the point of view that was not expressed in the article, that of the anti-drug officials, is that they need to control the base substance to control the narcotic product. Coca leaf is not harmful or dangerous in its natural state, but can be processed to make cocain. Therefore if coca leaves are readily available, so is cocaine. This is the same reason why we cannot buy the drug Sudafed off the shelf anymore: it is not directly harmful or dangerous, but retrards use it to make Meth. Obviously to international officials, the control of a dangerous and powerful(as in makes drug lords powerful) narcotic is more important than the ancient traditions of the working class of a small country.

In our culture, I do not believe it is possible to be 'all inclusive' and let everyone practice their customs freely. First of all, under the Constitution we are guaranteed the right to practice religion, providing it does not endanger others. So already there is a limit. Secondly, the famous description of American culture is the Melting Pot, where all cultures and traditions are broken down and assimilated into the overall structure. But there will be clashes, and some parts will be unavoidably lost or changed. i had more to back that up but i forgot so peaceeee