Marijuana of the ‘80s: Cocaine is a Fact of Life in America

This LA Times piece from 1985 is a great read for any enthusiast of the ’80s, cocaine, or both:

Panamanian diplomat Roberto Leyton took his family to the Fourth of July celebration near the Washington Monument last summer for fireworks and the Beach Boys concert, but he found a lot more.
“I couldn’t believe what I saw,” he said. “Everybody consuming drugs in front of the police, doing all type of stuff. People even came to our group and offered us drugs for us to give them ice.”

For Leyton, who is Panama’s special envoy to the United States on drug matters and its ambassador to the Organization of American States, the incident illustrates a profound strategic weakness in the U.S. war against cocaine trafficking… read more >