Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said that \u201ccocaine is no worse than whiskey\u201d as he suggested the global cocaine industry could be \u201ceasily dismantled\u201d if the drug was legalized worldwide. <\/p>\n
Colombia is the world\u2019s top producer and exporter of cocaine, mainly to the United States and Europe, and the government has spent decades fighting drug trafficking. <\/p>\n
\u201cCocaine is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whisky,\u201d the president said on Tuesday during a six-hour ministerial meeting that was broadcasted live. <\/p>\n
\u201cScientists have analyzed this,\u201d he claimed. <\/p>\n
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\u2019s cocaine production has surged. <\/p>\n
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\u2019 Office on Drugs and Crime said in October. <\/p>\n
In his remarks at the meeting, Petro suggested that cocaine should be legalized like alcohol to combat trafficking. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want peace, you have to dismantle the business (of drug trafficking),\u201d he said. \u201cIt could easily be dismantled if they legalize cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.\u201d <\/p>\n
Petro highlighted fentanyl, a synthetic drug at the heart of the opioid crisis in the US, in contrast, saying \u201c(it) is killing Americans, but it\u2019s not made in Colombia.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals\u201d and those who used it \u201cbecame addicted,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Serious medical complications can occur with its use, including cocaine use disorder \u2013 compulsive use of the addictive stimulant \u2013 and overdose, according to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse. Adulteration of the drug with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl has also contributed to a rise in overdose deaths, according to the NIH. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the NIH warns alcohol use can lead to injuries, violence, alcohol poisoning or overdose, with side effects of excessive use such as liver disease and cancer. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said that \u201ccocaine is no worse than whiskey\u201d as he suggested the global cocaine industry could be \u201ceasily dismantled\u201d if the drug was legalized worldwide. Colombia is the world\u2019s top…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invest360pro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}