Disaster Cocaine "no worse than whiskey," would be "sold like wine" if legalized worldwide, Colombia's president says

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cocaine-no-worse-than-whiskey-colombia-president/

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Bogota — 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.

"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 also pointed out that fentanyl "is killing Americans and it is not made in Colombia," referring to the opioid responsible for around 75,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to official data.

"Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals" and those who consumed it "became addicted," he added.

Since coming to power in 2022, Petro has attempted to make peace with all the armed groups that are fueled by drug trafficking, in the hope of ending six decades of conflict.

Cocaine production in Colombia reached a record-high in 2023, jumping 53 percent to 2,600 tons, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

 

[Fagnacious D]

Cocaine isn't so bad, try some. The first hit is free! - Drug lord of Drug City located in Crime Country.

 

[the_hidden_one]

In the hypothetical situation where all three are legal, which would make you the most productive, which one are you most likely to wean yourself off of when not in a crunch or big production schedule, and which one comes out as the best step up from coffee for general "getting shit done"?

Cocaine is weak and the few times I did it I didn't even notice until it wore off. Ecstasy will alter your personality in a way that will make you less than useful if you are trying to do something constructive. It also causes brain damage with regular use. Speed in low doses is your best bet for being productive without bouncing off the walls.

 

[grimacefetishist]

That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. Tequila is from latam and it's worse than whiskey and yet it's still legal.

There are probably other reasons people dislike cocaine outside of it being from the new world. The fact that there's kingpins getting mega rich off of idiots who still use it makes me mad in some ways, yes, but not big brained mad enough to think about rescheduling it.

 

[Thomas Talus]

I've long been wary of stimulants, especially the more potent ones, on the grounds that they cause you to ignore the signals your body is sending you about the actual state of your physical wellbeing, which is likely to lead to the accumulation of damage from overstrained systems forced to keep going.

 

[Beautiful Border]

In the hypothetical situation where all three are legal, which would make you the most productive, which one are you most likely to wean yourself off of when not in a crunch or big production schedule, and which one comes out as the best step up from coffee for general "getting shit done"?

I basically agree with what @The Evil Midnight Bomber said, but honestly there's no situation where I would prefer coke. I could also mention 3MMC which has an amazing buzz but is ridiculously addictive and quite hard to get hold of (not a good combination!).

 

[Radola Gajda]

Well if he legalises it in Colombia, we'll know where the Balldo will emigrate to.

Are we going to get Jim Jones arc?

 

[BradeRunna]

Killing the ones responsible for an issue is a form of solution.

Unfortunately drugs just don't kill most junkies fast enough.

You would need some kind of state run mass execution program.

But I get what you are saying. It's kind of like my stance on abortions.

 

[Attempt Turd]

Meh, most of my friends do coke from time to time. They're in their late thirties. All have decent jobs. About half have kids.

I'm for general legalisation of everything if we can keep a harsh social stigma against overuse and keep people off the streets but I'm not sure that is possible.

 

[Overwritten Tapes]

It was like they were just waiting for weed to be legal so they could start pushing that shit.

It's TPTB trying to slowly normalize everything. Just like with the music.

 

[Raven of the Burning God]

Right now in the United States only one company has a special DEA license to import cocaine. Which company? Coca Cola. They have a plant in New Jersey that processes cocaine for drug companies and is monitored by the DEA and FBI (and probably the CIA).

Coke buys the coca flavoring extract from Stepan.
Stepan imports their coca leaves from Peru.
And by "Peru" I mean farms in export processing zones in Hawaii and California.
The cocaine is sold to Mallinckrodt Pharma.

Coca-Cola replaced the kola extract with an artificial flavor (and caffeine) years ago.
I have little doubt they could do the same with the coca extract, but probably like having all that cocaine around.

Incidentally, if you've ever had a just kola flavored soda, it's pretty good.

 

[AnimeGirlConnoisseur]

Wow! Nick Rekeita's two favorite pastimes activities in one headline!

If it only it mentioned child neglect, then we could have had all three.

 

[Snekposter]

I don't see the issue with the leaves themselves, I didn't even know you could make them into tea, but I do knew you can chew the leaves and that gives you a small boost.

Coca, in the small quantities found in nature, is a mild stimulant and appetite suppressant that due to its effects on the cardiovascular system helps with acclimating to high altitudes with thin air and low O2 concentrations.

Coca, in the massive quantities found in extract form as cocaine, will fry your brain and stop your heart.

If it only it mentioned child neglect, then we could have had all three.

I'm pretty sure the drug cartels have no issues with exploiting child labor.

 

[mold]

I'm not reading this whole thread but I predict it's full of people talking about how terrible legal coke would be as if we don't give literal speed to literal children, and making up shit about how coke can kill you instantly while ignoring the horrendous and visible health effects of alcohol

 

[pwnest injun]

We spent decades of effort and billions of dollars to de-narcofy Columbia only for the retards there to elect a Communist coke fiend president who's fucked the whole country into the dirt in no time.

 

[demicolon]

The simple answer is that the government would never promote an upper. Many issues in western countries would be solved if 20-40 year olds would get high on coke and decide that the world could be a better place.

It's not that 20-40 year olds would get too productive; it's that uppers make them violent. That's literally the only thing that governments have against unrestricted access to this stuff aside from moralfagging. A drunk overdosing on alcohol vomits and crashes to sleep, but a tweaker overdosing on stimulants doesn't sleep for days, goes crazy and aggresive and has to be restrained and nobody wants to deal with that shit. Same reason why testosterone is monitored more strictly than estrogen, it's not that they want to feminize you but that estrogen doesn't make you aggresively pester people.

 

[mrfresh]

He's right.

If you disagree you should look into how the war on drugs has been a massive failure on all fronts and prohibition will never work.

 

[Sargon's wife's son]

cocaine is a wussy drug and people drinking coffee or subhuman don't give into the jews coffee to ameth man