Cocaine Not Worse Than Whisky – Colombian President

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has claimed that “cocaine is no worse than whiskey” as he suggested the global cocaine industry could be “easily dismantled” if the drug was legalized worldwide.

Colombia is the world’s top producer and exporter of cocaine, mainly to the United States and Europe, and the government has spent decades fighting drug trafficking.

“Cocaine is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whisky,” the president said on Tuesday during a six-hour ministerial meeting that was broadcasted live.

“Scientists have analyzed this,” he claimed.

The leftist leader, who assumed office in 2022, has vowed to tackle drug trafficking and regulate the use of illegal substances. However, since he came to power, Colombia’s cocaine production has surged.

Cultivation of coca leaves in Colombia increased 10% in 2023 from the previous year, while potential cocaine production reached a record of more than 2,600 metric tons, a 53% increase, the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime said in October.

In his remarks at the meeting, Petro suggested that cocaine should be legalized like alcohol to combat trafficking.

“If you want peace, you have to dismantle the business (of drug trafficking),” he said. “It could easily be dismantled if they legalize cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.”

Colombia later agreed to accept the deportees and deployed its own planes to assist in their return, after a flurry of threats that included steep tariffs, a travel ban for Colombian nationals and the revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US.

Colombia has been a major non-NATO ally of the US, and for decades has been its closest partner in South America, working closely on anti-drug trafficking efforts.

Cocaine is the fourth most consumed drug globally, according to the UN, and illegal in most countries. However, some governments have decriminalized possession of the drug in small amounts.

CNN/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma