Source: Austin American-Statesman Contact: http://www.Austin360.com/ Pubdate: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 COCAINE ERADICATION Futility strikes again in the form of certification for Mexico and waivers for Columbia's cocaine eradication efforts. Source eradication is pure folly; here's why: Using a mere 1/20 of 1 percent of the entire coca-growing region, 795 metric tons of cocaine are produced annually using primitive farming methods. The coca-growing region of South America is approximately the size of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. One hundred percent of the world's cocaine comes from South America. Most Americans can't keep crab grass out of their own back yards, and yet they continue funding a glorified weed-pulling program in a tropical jungle. The certification process begins with "certified idiots": utopian policy-makers in lock-step with warmongering drug cartels. Let's eradicate stupidity. Let's certify harm reduction and tolerance. John F. Wilson, Waco