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The world's first cocaine bar
Topic Started: Jan 12 2010, 12:11 PM (276 Views)
Riley
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HOLY CARP!!!
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"Tonight we have two types of cocaine; normal for 100 Bolivianos a gram, and strong cocaine for 150 [Bolivianos] a gram." The waiter has just finished taking our drink order of two rum-and-Cokes here in La Paz, Bolivia, and as everybody in this bar knows, he is now offering the main course. The bottled water is on the house.

The waiter arrives at the table, lowers the tray and places an empty black CD case in the middle of the table. Next to the CD case are two straws and two little black packets. He is so casual he might as well be delivering a sandwich and fries. And he has seen it all. "We had some Australians; they stayed here for four days. They would take turns sleeping and the only time they left was to go to the ATM," says Roberto, who has worked at Route 36 (in its various locations) for the last six months. Behind the bar, he goes back to casually slicing straws into neat 8cm lengths.

La Paz, Bolivia, at 3,900m above sea level – an altitude where even two flights of stairs makes your heart race like a hummingbird – is home to the most celebrated bar in all of South America: Route 36, the world's first cocaine lounge. I sit back to take in the scene – table after table of chatty young backpackers, many of whom are taking a gap year, awaiting a new job or simply escaping the northern hemisphere for the delights of South America, which, for many it seems, include cocaine.

"Since they are an after-hours club and serve cocaine the neighbours tend to complain pretty fast. So they move all the time. Maybe if they are lucky they last three months in the same place, but often it is just two weeks. Route 36 is a movable feast," says a Bolivian newspaper editor who asked not to be named. "One day it is in one zone and then it pops up in another area. Certainly it is the most famous among the backpacker crowd but there are several other places that are offering cocaine as well. Because Route 36 changes addresses so much there is a lot of confusion about how many cocaine bars are out there."

This new trend of 'cocaine tourism' can be put down to a combination of Bolivia's notoriously corrupt public officials, the chaotic "anything goes" attitude of La Paz, and the national example of President Evo Morales, himself a coca grower. (Coca is the leaf, and cocaine is the highly manufactured and refined powder.) Morales has diligently fought for the rights of coca growers and tossed the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) out of Bolivia. While he has said he will crack down on cocaine production, he appears to be swimming against the current. In early July, the largest ever cocaine factory was discovered in eastern Bolivia. Capable of producing 100kg a day, the lab was run by Colombians and provided the latest evidence that Bolivia is now home to sophisticated cocaine laboratories. The lab was the fourth large facility to be found in Bolivia this year.

Nowhere in South America is cocaine production growing faster than Bolivia. Reports by the UN show that in Colombia, production dropped 28% last year [2008], while in Bolivia it rose nearly 10%. "There is more interest and and investment in purifying coca paste here and exporting it, rather than sending it to Colombia for purification," Oscar Nina, Bolivia's top anti-drug official, said recently.

As the US and Colombian military put pressure on drug traffickers, operations are migrating into nearby countries, especially Bolivia, where the turf for illegal operations is as fertile as the valleys where the locals have grown coca for the last five centuries. Stopping cocaine tourism in La Paz could be as difficult as keeping Americans from drinking during prohibition.

Down in Route 36's main room, the scene is chilled. A half-hearted disco ball sporadically bathes the room in red and green light. Each table has candles and a stash of bottled water, plus whatever mixers one cares to add to your drink. In the corner, a pile of board games includes chess, backgammon, and Jenga, the game in which a steady hand pulls out bricks from a tower of blocks until the whole pile collapses. If it weren't for the heads bobbing down like birds scouring the seashore for food, you would never know that huge amounts of cocaine were being casually ingested. There's a lot of mingling from table to table. Everyone here has stories – the latest adventures from Ecuador, the best bus to Peru – and even the most wired "why-won't-he-shut-up?" traveller is given a generous welcome before being sent back to his table, where he can repeat those stories another 10 times.

"Everyone knows about this place," says Jonas, a backpacker who arrived two days earlier. "My mate came to Bolivia last year and he said, 'Route 36 is the best lounge in all of South America.'" It is certainly the most bizarre and brazen. Though cocaine is illegal in Bolivia, Route 36 is fast becoming an essential stop for thousands of tourists who come here every year and happily sample the country's cocaine, which is famous for both its availability, price (around €15 a gram) and purity.

The scene here is peaceful; there seems no fear that anyone will be caught. ("The owner has paid off all the right people," one waiter says with a smile.) A female backpacker from Newcastle slips on to one of the four couches arranged around the table. "We've brought some [cocaine] virgins here. This will be their first time, so we are just rubbing it on their lips. But they are lucky – you could never get such pure coke back home. In London you pay 50 quid for a gram that's been cut so much, all it does it make your lips numb and sends you to the bathroom."

Travellers' blogs also give the place a good writeup. "I travelled the world for nine months, and for sure La Paz was the craziest city and Route 36 the best bar of my entire trip," writes one, while another says, "Like to burn the candle at both ends? Well, here you can bloody well torch the whole candle."

And torch your brain as well. Cocaine, as everybody knows, is highly addictive, destructive and easy to abuse. The rationale for outlawing cocaine was to protect public health – but instead the now 40-year experiment in prohibition has done little to protect the lives of millions of users worldwide who will snort whatever white substance is placed before them. The billions in annual profits have corrupted governments worldwide, and La Paz, without intending it, seems to have mutated into the front line of this failed drug war.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/19/bolivia-cocaine-bar-route-36
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Legalize all drugs.

Keep illegal all public safety activities being performed while under the influence. Including if you fail as a parent because of drugs, your children will be taken away from you.

If you choose to kill yourself using drugs, so be it.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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apple
one of the angels
when i sold encyclopedias, i found a package containing 20 packets of pharmaceutical grade cocaine.. gave it to my friends. .. a pharmacy had closed downtown and it was in a pile of boxes of trash and stuff... right in the lobby.

they said it was excellent
it behooves me to behold
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
I somehow can't see you with a checkered past. Plaid maybe...
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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apple
one of the angels
i know myself well enough that if i even tried coke, i'd be instantly a junkie

my past is pretty colorful mik
it behooves me to behold
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Well, I've read a lot of the stories and I agree your life has been quite colorful. I just never saw you in my felony du jour crowd.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Mark
Jan 12 2010, 12:56 PM
Including if you fail as a parent because of drugs, your children will be taken away from you.
Before or after the junkie gives birth?
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Can't control the world in such a manner John.

Even if you try to do so you fail.

As we are doing now.

Education and treatment is the correct way to deal with these issues.

Not making more criminals.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Mark
Jan 12 2010, 02:45 PM
Can't control the world in such a manner John.

Even if you try to do so you fail.

As we are doing now.

Education and treatment is the correct way to deal with these issues.

Not making more criminals.
I don't think drug addicts should be treated as criminals. Drug dealers, however, should be.

And I don't have a problem with education and treatment. However, to tell people not to take methamphetamine since it will kill them but to make it freely available is a bit silly.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
It already is freely available.

That is what you cannot stop.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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John D'Oh
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Mark
Jan 12 2010, 02:53 PM
It already is freely available.

That is what you cannot stop.
You can't stop men beating their wives either, but that doesn't mean it should be made legal and dealt with solely by counselling sessions and education.

Junkies don't just damage themselves. Therefore, the drug dealers aren't just hurting their customers, they help to create a broken environment.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
You sound exactly like the members of the temperance movement.

"We know what's best for all of you!" <- Posted Image

So what if the environment is "broken". If you want to live in a "broken environment" I am not going to stop you. And neither should anyone else.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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John D'Oh
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Mark
Jan 12 2010, 03:53 PM
You sound exactly like the members of the temperance movement.
No, I don't. Have you seen what happens to someone who takes crystal meth?

Legalising marijuana or alcohol isn't the same as legalising crack cocaine, or meth.

You sound exactly like someone who only sees the world in black and white. And as I said, if the environment is broken, others suffer - children and loved ones end up being abused and damaged.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
One of the many things I love about apple is she's capable of anything.
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
John D'Oh
Jan 12 2010, 05:26 PM
Mark
Jan 12 2010, 03:53 PM
You sound exactly like the members of the temperance movement.
No, I don't. Have you seen what happens to someone who takes crystal meth?

Legalising marijuana or alcohol isn't the same as legalising crack cocaine, or meth.

You sound exactly like someone who only sees the world in black and white. And as I said, if the environment is broken, others suffer - children and loved ones end up being abused and damaged.
You miss my point.

You cannot stop people from doing these things.

Period.

It is exactly the same thing.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
kenny
Jan 12 2010, 05:29 PM
One of the many things I love about apple is she's capable of anything.
Yep. I don't see 'I can't' as being in her vocabulary.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Mark
Jan 12 2010, 05:31 PM
You miss my point.

You cannot stop people from doing these things.

Period.

It is exactly the same thing.
You can't stop people from doing lots of things. Should they all be legal, too? Since it's going to happen anyway, why not just let people charge for admission?
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
I think we would be better off treating drug abuse as a medical problem rather than a criminal problem. The current approach clearly is not working. We are filling our prisons up with nonviolent offenders where they quickly learn to become violent offenders. Locking up drug dealers would be unnecessary if they no longer have a market.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
JBryan
Jan 13 2010, 04:53 AM
I think we would be better off treating drug abuse as a medical problem rather than a criminal problem. The current approach clearly is not working. We are filling our prisons up with nonviolent offenders where they quickly learn to become violent offenders.
I completely agree with that. I also think that legalizing 'soft' drugs such as marijuana could very well undermine hard drug use, since it ceases to be a gateway to the really dangerous stuff.

I suspect the main reason Mark wants hard drugs legalizing is that he wants the government to organize their taxation. :biggrin:
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Agreed.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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