Illicit Crop Frontiers

Today, many zones of cultivation for plants like coca, khat, kratom, and cannabis are thriving, in some cases despite protracted, violent, lethal attempts at containment through state re-territorialization -- often, terror. These straddle the borders legality places where they grown, participating agriculture frontiers characterized by uncertain unpredictable openings closings, changing distributions harms among human communities. Scholars activists question ideology efficacy transnational programs to eradicate crops criminalize farmers, bringing new attention these commodities impacts their contested legal status. There is also a rising appreciation indigenous traditional importance decolonizing uses plants, against backdrops botanical speculation, piracy, colonization, trauma. Finally, illicit agricultural stand be dramatically reconfigured changes potential drug law regimes.
 
 For this essay, we invited three scholars comment on kratom have long been embedded research: Asmin Fransiska (hereafter AF) Indonesia, Lisa Gezon LG) Madagascar, Kristina Lyon KL) Colombia. We, authors, edited comments, put them into conversation exploring crop today, what shared distinct frontiers, frictions countermovements within them, actual or connections broader agrarian movements. As relay commentaries, offer few contours (il)licit bring our understanding uneven unequal histories capitalism unending drive marginal landscapes. We brief typology punctuate conversation, directions ongoing study.