ABSTRACT
The first cocaine cartels were formed in Europe, probably around 1910. A group of eight European drug manufacturers met and agreed, if not to fix prices for cocaine, then at least not to start any price wars. The group was actually referred to as the Cocaine Manufacturers Syndicate, not cartel, and its existence was kept a secret. To counter the pressures exerted by the Cocaine Manufacturers Syndicate, Dutch growers in Java formed their own syndicate.
