cocaine production comes from the coca plant, which is mostly grown in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. The drug is manufactured in these countries in clandestine laboratories with a number of different chemicals. Once processed, cocaine production it is trafficked through South and Central America to Mexico to be smuggled into the United States, or shipped to markets in other parts of the world. The Colombian cartels were historically the biggest players in the cocaine trade. But Mexico has seized a larger foothold in recent years.

Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug. It is frequently encountered as a white powder. People use it by snorting it, rubbing it on the gums, injecting it, cocaine production or smoking a rock form of it known as crack cocaine.

Cocaine is produced from the leaves of the coca plant (Erythoxylon coca). The plant grows almost exclusively in northern and western South America. Colombia is now the main producer of illegal cocaine with Peru, Bolivia, and Chile providing significant amounts of the drug. The coca plant grows best in the mountain and jungle areas of these countries.

cocaine production

Small cocaine brick and press
Small laboratories are scattered throughout the coca growing areas of South America. The hand picked coca leaves are soaked in gasoline and other chemicals to extract the coca base from the leaves in industrial-sized drums. Then the base is poured into brick molds. The water is pressed out, leaving a hard, easy-to-handle brick containing about 50 percent cocaine.

Cocaine Processing Labs
In these remote areas, processing laboratories are buy methamphetamine online
set up to extract the coca from the leaves and then convert the coca into cocaine. There are two types of processing labs: pozo pit labs that use acidic solutions, and the more common lab that uses metal drums and gasoline.

Where Does Cocaine Come From?
Cocaine is extracted and processed from coca plants in South America on the ridge of the Andes mountains or in lowland jungles such as those found in Colombia.Bolivian flake
cocaine production The vast majority of cocaine production occurs in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, as those countries are the main places where the coca plant can be grown naturally and in sufficient quantities to produce mass amounts of cocaine.3,4,5,6

In 2008, Colombia and Peru produced about 450 metric tons of pure cocaine each. Bolivia produced 113 metric tons of pure cocaine.4 More recent estimates from 2014 show that Colombia is growing more coca plants than Peru and Bolivia combined.