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• Debate: Legality of coca production and consumption - July 20th, 2011.

"Coca Leaf: The Heritage of the Andes." on YouTube

Featured pro and con arguments from this article:

• PRO: Coca in its natural state is not a narcotic Evo Morales "Let Me Chew My Coca Leaves." New York Times Editorial. March 13th, 2009: "What is absurd about the 1961 convention is that it considers the coca leaf in its natural, unaltered state to be a narcotic. The paste or the concentrate that is extracted from the coca leaf, commonly known as cocaine, is indeed a narcotic, but the plant itself is not."[1]

Coca chewing is milder than caffeine, nicotine, etc Evo Morales "Let Me Chew My Coca Leaves." New York Times Editorial. March 13th, 2009: "Unlike nicotine or caffeine, it causes no harm to human health nor addiction or altered state, and it is effective in the struggle against obesity, a major problem in many modern societies."

• CON: Coca is narcotic since cocaine can readily be extracted. WHO. In 1992 the World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) undertook a ‘prereview’ of coca leaf at its 28th meeting. The 28th ECDD report concluded that, “the coca leaf is appropriately scheduled [as a narcotic] under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, since cocaine is readily extractable from the leaf. The Committee did not recommend coca leaf for critical review.”[2]

• Ban on sale of violent video games to minors - July 8th, 2011.
• Mandatory ultrasounds before abortions - June 30th, 2011.
• US intervention in Libya - June 19th, 2011.
• Should colleges ban fraternities? - June 15th, 2011.
• Random sobriety tests for drivers - June 7th, 2011.
• Home plate collision rule in baseball - June 1, 2011.
  
• Child beauty pageants - May 28th, 2011.
• Trans fat ban - May 19th, 2011.
• China "one child" policy - May 12th, 2011.
• Release of Osama bin Laden death photos - May 6th, 2011.
• Osama Bin Laden Sea Burial - May 3rd, 2011.
• Return of Israel to pre-1967 borders - April 30th, 2011.
• Term limits for legislators - April 19th, 2011.
• Seattle deep-bore tunnel - April 13th, 2011.
• Should the US arm Libyan rebels? - April 2nd, 2011.
• High-speed rail - March 30th, 2011.
• Mandatory military service - March 26th, 2011.
• No-fly zone over Libya - March 15th, 2011.
• Military recruiting in public schools - March 11th, 2011.
• Bullfighting - March 8th, 2011.
• Collective bargaining rights for public unions - March 4th, 2011.

See Past Debate Digest topics

• Debate: Affirmative action Michigan appeals court strikes down Michigan's 2006 constitutional amendment that banned affirmative action in college admissions, employment and contracting.[3]
• Debate: Israeli blockade of Gaza has been in the news with the attempts of a 10-boat flotilla of activists to break the blockade and provide humanitarian aid.[4]
  
• Debate: Gay marriage Gay marriage was legalized in New York state on June 24th, 2011. It became the sixth and largest state in the United States to do so, supporting the case for gay marriage and reinvigorating the debate on the subject.[5]
• Debate: Corn ethanol: Steven Rattner. "The Great Corn Con." NYTimes. June 24th, 2011
• Debate: Natural gas: "Insiders sound an alarm amid a natural gas rush." New York Times. June 25th, 2011
• Puerto Rico statehood in America "Puerto Rico Gov. Fortuno on Obama Visit, Ongoing Statehood Debate." PBS.org. June 14th, 2011

More Debates in the News

This section features strong work done by Debatepedia editors. Consider joining their efforts. User Guide. See Recent changes for all recent community edits.

• June 17th. Corporal punishment of children was edited by Ana Jay.
• June 13th. Debate: Mongolian reunification created by England4Ever.
• July 9th. Lavanya.Hero argued that teachers have an easier job working in single-sex schools because they don't have to worry about equal opportunity.
• July 2nd. Debate: Dogs vs cats was created as a stump article.
• June 30th. Debate: Mandatory ultrasounds before abortions was posted to the Debate Digest.
• June 25th. Debate: China is headed for a revolution was created and developed quite well by MrtDbt and Bakunin.
• June 24th. MrtDbt added an argument to Debate: Infant male circumcision.
• June 19th. Debate: US intervention in Libya was posted to the Debate Digest.
• June 15th. Debate: Should colleges ban fraternities? was posted to the Debate Digest.

England4Ever created and edited Debate: Aaland Islands.

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