The Colombian Embassy to the United Kingdom released an official statement regarding an article that was published in The Telegraph titled: ‘Duchess of Northumberland asks Colombia to send coca plants for her Poison Garden’. The story, dated March 13, claims that Jane Percy had contacted the Colombian Government to source coca plant seedlings and coca seeds for the Poison Garden at Alnwick Castle. The Poison Garden at her family’s estate is used to educate the public and schools about drugs.
According to the report, the 65-year-old Duchess “has a special license from the UK Government to grow opium poppies, cannabis, and coca plants.” The Telegraph also claims Percy has approached the British Embassies in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile to source the seeds.
“For many years we have run a drug education program which provides a unique opportunity to think about the plants that drugs come from and the dangers those drugs present,” she told the news publication. “Unfortunately, we are missing the part of the story which explains the pain and suffering in the countries where coca is grown and cocaine is processed.”
The Colombian Government highlighted that it had not received any “official or informal request” from the Duchess, and if it had, would not have been able to attend to it, “considering that the coca leaf is classified as a Class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act in the United Kingdom.”
The Embassy then went on to emphasize “that the coca leaf is not a drug, nor is it poisonous, and is not toxic by itself.” The statement makes clear that the coca leaf is not cocaine, similar to “cereal grains not being whiskey, and potatoes not being vodka.”
Even though the Duchess remains optimistic that she will be able to source coca plant seedlings and seeds for her Poison Garden that houses over 100 varieties of intoxicating plants, the Colombian Government extended its gratitude to the Duchess “for her interest in understanding the complexity” of the drug situation in the country, and noted that Colombia is “ready to contribute to shaping a new approach to drug consumption in the light of the failures of the previous ‘war on drugs’.”
The Embassy concludes its statement by welcoming a dialogue with the Duchess of Northumberland, and possibility of working together in “socializing the multifaceted nature of the coca leaf.”
Visitors to the Poison Garden are not allowed to touch the plants, and a sign on the iron gates warns “These Plants Can Kill”. The formal gardens include species of Strychnos nux-vomica (source of strychnine), hemlock, Ricinus communis (source of harmless castor oil, but also deadly ricin), foxglove, Atropa belladonna, Brugmansia and Laburnum.
