Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Production of coca, the plant used to make cocaine, rose to its highest level ever in 2017, despite billions of dollars spent by the U.S. government to eradicate it, the United Nations Office on Drug Control said.
Production last year reached 171,000 hectares -- a 17 percent increase from 2016, the study found. Today, coca crops are producing 33 percent more than in 2012.