As a President, you’ve always got to play to your country’s strengths, so I guess it’s no surprise that Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has called for the legalisation of cocaine worldwide.
During a live broadcast of a government meeting, President Petro said cocaine is “no worse than whiskey” and claimed it’s only illegal because it comes from Latin America.
Cocaine “is no worse than whiskey” and is only illegal because it comes from Latin America, said Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose nation is the world’s biggest cocaine producer and exporter. https://t.co/eeOHBPcXP0
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 6, 2025
During the six-hour meeting – broadcast live for the first time ever – the leftist president said “cocaine is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whiskey.”
He added: “Scientists have analysed this. Cocaine is no worse than whiskey,” suggesting that the global cocaine industry could be “easily dismantled” if the drug were legalised worldwide.
Could President Gustavo Petro be onto something here? Of course, Colombia is the world’s biggest cocaine producer and exporter and has spent decades fighting against drug trafficking. If cocaine were to be legalised, they could tax the sh1t out of it, and also not have to deal with illegal drug trafficking and all the gang violence that comes with it.
If you look up the World GDP Rankings, you’ll find Colombia is ranked 43rd, despite being 29th in total population. The poverty rate is roughly 39%! Now I’m no economist, but it sounds like the Colombian economy could be doing a lot better than it currently is. There’s only so many coffee beans you can export, after all.
If you legalise cocaine however? Well, everyone knows Colombia has the best cocaine. Their economy would be sky-high in no time! Just look at the type of money Pablo Escobar was making, adjust it for inflation, and you’d understand why President Petro believes that legalising cocaine is a no-brainer.
Now obviously we also have to consider how addictive cocaine is and how bad it is for your heart and what a society that that does cocaine the way it drinks coffee would look like, but even still, it’s something to consider. I’m not sure that the President’s assertion that cocaine is “no worse than whiskey” is the best route to go down, so I’d probably stick with the argument about curbing the illegal drug trade and gang violence and all the issues that are caused by the fact that cocaine remains illegal in Colombia and around the world.
It will take some convincing to get the rest of the world on board with this idea, but you can’t blame President Petro for trying. In his view, his country has essentially been sitting on a gold mine for years that they haven’t been able to make any money from. For their own sake, I hope they can make it happen someday. For our own mental and physical sake? Probably best that it stays illegal.
For recent reports that ketamine could be upgrade to a class A drug in the UK following record usage, click HERE. Not looking good on the legal cocaine front, then.
