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Colombian President Gustavo Petro has asserted that "cocaine is no worse than whiskey" in advocating for the worldwide legalization of the drug, which he suggests would "easily dismantle" the global cocaine industry. Petro's remarks come as Colombia, the world’s top producer and exporter of cocaine, grapples with the ongoing challenge of combating 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.”
Petro highlighted fentanyl, a synthetic drug at the heart of the opioid crisis in the US, in contrast, saying “(it) is killing Americans, but it’s not made in Colombia.”
“Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals” and those who used it “became addicted,” he said.
His comments come nearly two weeks after a diplomatic standoff with President Donald Trump after he blocked the landing of two US military flights of deported migrants, accusing the US of treating Colombian migrants like criminals.
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.
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.
