Cocaine is ‘no worse than whiskey,’ Colombian president says

A person holds a bag of cocaine to be tested for adulterated substances during a techno party in the outskirts of Bogota, Colombia on Nov. 19, 2021. (Juan Pablo Pino / AFP / Getty Images / File via CNN Newsource)

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said 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 whiskey,” 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 per cent in 2023 from the previous year, while potential cocaine production reached a record of more than 2,600 metric tonnes, a 53 per cent 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 U.S., 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 U.S. President Donald Trump after he blocked the landing of two U.S. military flights of deported migrants, accusing the U.S. 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 U.S.

Colombia has been a major non-NATO ally of the U.S., 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.

Serious medical complications can occur with its use, including cocaine use disorder – compulsive use of the addictive stimulant – 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.

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.

Edward Szekeres, CNN