Colombian president suggests cocaine could be legalized globally

Colombian President Gustavo Petro caused a stir during a live broadcast of a government meeting, where he controversially stated that cocaine “is no worse than whiskey” and is only illegal because it is produced in Latin America.

Petro, who has been in power since 2022, further suggested that the global cocaine trade could be easily dismantled if the drug were legalised worldwide.

Petro, speaking during a historic six-hour ministerial meeting, said, “Cocaine is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whiskey.”

The leftist president’s comments came as part of his ongoing effort to reshape Colombia’s approach to drug policy and end the nation’s long-standing conflict with armed groups involved in narcotics trafficking.

Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine, which is mostly exported to the United States and Europe. Petro noted that cocaine production in Colombia reached a record high in 2023, increasing by 53% to 2,600 tons, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

The president continued, claiming that legalising cocaine could help dismantle the global drug trade. “If you want peace, you have to dismantle the business of drug trafficking,” Petro said. “It could easily be dismantled if they legalise cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.”

He also took the opportunity to criticise fentanyl, the opioid responsible for roughly 75,000 deaths annually in the US Petro pointed out that fentanyl is not produced in Colombia and emphasised that it was created as a pharmaceutical drug by North American multinationals. “Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals,” he said. “The people who consumed it became addicted.”

Petro has long sought peace with armed groups that profit from the drug trade, hoping to end six decades of internal conflict in Colombia. However, the challenges remain significant, as the production and trafficking of cocaine continue to fuel violence and destabilise the country.