Colombian President Wants to Legalize Cocaine Worldwide
CBS News -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 biggest cocaine producer and exporter, mainly to the United States and Europe, and has spent decades fighting against drug trafficking.
During a six-hour ministerial 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."
"Scientists have analyzed this. Cocaine is no worse than whiskey," he added, suggesting that the global cocaine industry could be "easily dismantled" if the drug were legalized worldwide.
It's only right Colombia's President Gustavo Petro would be staunchly pro-cocaine. As president, you gotta play to your country's strengths. Capitalize on the resources god gave you. If you take a look at the world GDP rankings, you'll find Gustavo's country, despite ranking 29th in total population, has the 43rd highest GDP ($344 billion). That puts them at 90th in GDP per capita. The poverty rate is roughly 39%. I'm no economist. And I'm pulling those stats straight off of Google. But I think it's fair to say Columbia doesn't necessarily have a thriving economy. Coffee beans will only carry you so far. Both financially speaking, and "getting-locked-in" speaking.
But everyone knows Columbia has the best blow. The numbers you hear thrown around regarding their cocaine production are staggering. Some might say unbelievable. In the 1980's, 80% of all cocaine in the United States allegedly came from Columbia's Pablo Escobar. They say it cost him $1,000 to manufacture a single kilo, a few more thousand to get to the United States, and it would sell for up to $70,000. When Pablo Escobar died in 1993, his estimated net worth was reported at $30 billion. Adjusted for inflation that's close to $70 billion today.
Who the hell knows how accurate those legendary Pablo Escobar numbers are. But the cocaine industry is undeniably huge. Columbia is sitting on a gold mine that they're not allow to mine from. Well... they can to an extent. Depending on how dirty the government wants to get their hands that day. But you know it's a tough pill to swallow for Columbians when they see other countries export alcohol (which by some measures could be considered more dangerous) and make billions upon billions of dollars off of it.
Throw in the amount of gang violence in Columbia that's caused by the illegal drug trade, of course President Gustavo Petro is advocating for the worldwide legalization of cocaine. He'd be stupid not to. In my opinion, he's not taking it far enough. If I were in charge of Columbians, I'd hire the best social media team I could afford to launch a viral "Cocaine is Actually Good" marketing campaign across the world. We'd have a Super Bowl ad airing this Sunday. Immediately following a heartwarming Budweiser Clydesdales commercial, it would be-
SCENE 1 (PARTY 1): A group of well-to-do gentleman at a sophisticated gathering. They're all wearing tuxedos and discussing the stock market. Responsibly taking small lines of cocaine off the most expensive mirror you've ever seen. Very classy affair.
SCENE 2 (PARTY 2): Zoom in on a drunk loser drinking beer at a party full of degenerates. The house is a pigsty. Some guy named Dana is standing on coffee table with a funnel. "Chug! Chug! Chug!", the people chant. But suddenly, the drunk loser watching this unfold is overcome with a sense of, "I need to be home right fucking now". He grabs his car keys and stumbles out to his car. As the door closes, you see the legs of the coffee table give out and Dana go crashing through the TV behind him.
SCENE 3 (DRIVING): Drunk loser flops into his vehicle and drives drunkenly into the night. Out of nowhere, a golden retriever named Cosmo runs in front of his car. Drunk loser swerves to avoid him, but fails. He strikes Cosmo with his Jeep Wrangler and smashes into a tree
SCENE 4: (BACK AT PARTY 1): The sophisticated gentleman's conversation about Swiss banks is interrupted by a high-pitched "YELP!" and a loud crash. They take a bump and spring into action. Two men, both doctors, rush to the scene of an accident and pull a drunk loser out of his vehicle. They fashion tourniquets out of their jackets to stop the bleeding, saving the man's life and legs. A third man, who's a veterinarian, attends to Cosmo the golden retriever. Cosmo is lying unconscious on the side of the road. He's gives Cosmo dog CPR, but it's not working. He's afraid he's going to lose him. As a last ditch effort, he whips out a vial of cocaine, sprinkles some on the tip of his finger, and rubs it on Cosmo's gums. The cocaine jumpstarts Cosmo's heart and he springs back to life. The dog is saved.
The commercial ends with a slow-motion shot of happy Cosmo licking the face of his responsible cocaine-using hero. A quote flashes across the screen
"ALCOHOL KILLS... COCAINE SAVES LIVES... SNORT RESPONSIBLY"
Paid for by The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Columbia, do not use cocaine on dogs
Not that we're anywhere close to that happening. According to this map on World Population Review, it's legal to carry up to 1g of cocaine in Columbia, up to 5g in Peru (noted), it's legal to cultivate in Bolivia, and is decriminalized in Chile, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, the Canadian province of British Columbia, and the U.S. state of Oregon. Everywhere else it's illegal recreationally.
So Colombia has a ways to go. But if Gustavo wants to say cocaine is no worse than whiskey, I don't that's a scorching hot take. It's hard to make a fair comparison. It's not apples to apples. There's countless different variables, and multiple angles you could attack that debate from. How much cocaine does 1 beer even equate to? How many cocaine overdoses happen because the drug was cut with something else? How many cocaine overdoses happened because the person's judgement was impaired by alcohol? What would cocaine use look like if people were educated about it, or if it were marketed the way alcohol is? Who knows. The only way you can really compare the two is by firing from the hip with an off-the-cuff "Would You Rather Alcohol vs Cocaine" chart.
Which doesn't settle anything either. The way I see it, I'm sure you're more likely to overdose on cocaine. It's significantly easier to snort too much powder than to drink too much liquid. But I gotta think the decision making of a drunk person is more hazardous to society than that of a man who's snorted some cocaine. Combine the two and that's a whole different story. It's funny how of all the world's mind-altering drugs, alcohol is the one that's been deemed socially acceptable. I think there's a case to be made that it's the most dangerous one of them all. I wouldn't buy that case. Meth seems like it's probably worse. Whatever fentanyl/paint thinner combination they're selling on Kensington Ave in Philadelphia seems like its probably worse. But I'm sure some people would argue it.
The reason alcohol kills so many people is because it's so easily obtainable, and so socially acceptable that people let their guards down. As much as you may enjoy a line of cocaine from time to time, it never feels like something you should be doing. But throw back a few beers and say to yourself, "This is right. Human beings are meant to do this", and feel no shame until 20 years down the road when you realize you haven't gone more than 48 consecutive hours with a fully sober brain your entire adult life and think, "Aw damn.. Maybe I shouldn't have done that."
President Gustavo might be onto something. Maybe if cocaine grew on trees that were exclusive to the United States we be selling it over-the-counter as an appetite suppressant. For your financial sake Colombia, I hope you can make it happen someday. For my own mental and physical health's sake… please don't. Money isn't everything guys.
