Bogot, Colombia:
Cocaine “is no worse than whiskey” and is only illegal because it comes from Latin -America, said Colombian President Gustavo Petro during a live broadcast of a government meeting. Colombia is the world’s largest cocaine producer and exporter, mainly for the United States and Europe, and has fought for decades against drug trafficking.
During a six-hour ministerial meeting-first broadcast live, the left-wing president: “Cocaine is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whiskey.”
“Scientists have analyzed this. Cocaine is no worse than whiskey,” he added, suggesting that the worldwide cocaine industry “can be easily dismantled” if the medicine was legalized worldwide.
“If you want peace, you have to dismantle the company (from drug trafficking),” he said. “It can easily be dismantled if they legalize cocaine in the world. It would be sold as wine.”
Petro also pointed out that Fentanyl “kills Americans and it is not made in Colombia”, referring to the opioid that is responsible for around 75,000 deaths in the United States per year, according to official data.
“Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy medicine through North -American multinationals” and those who consumed “were addicted,” he added.
Since he came to power in 2022, Petro has tried to make peace with all the armed groups that are fed by drug trafficking in the hope of terminating conflicts for six decades.
Cocaine production in Colombia reached a record high in 2023 and, according to the UN office, jumped over drugs and crime 53 percent to 2,600 tons.
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