Foreign President Claims ‘Cocaine Is Illegal Because It’s Made In Latin America,’ Calls For Legalization

Colombian President Gustavo Petro claimed Tuesday that cocaine is only illegal around the world because it’s produced in Latin American countries, and that legalizing it would help strip power from cartels.

“Cocaine is illegal because it’s made in Latin America. Not because it’s worse than whiskey,” Petro said at a roundtable with his cabinet on Tuesday. “The scientists analyzed this,” he added, “It’s not worse than whiskey.”

In a Council of Ministers meeting, Petro and his cabinet broadcasted live on Colombian television as they discussed different national interest issues on Tuesday. His comments suggesting that cocaine is only illegal because of political interests and not the lethality and addictive nature of the drug have sparked controversy.

The National Center for Biological Technology Information noted that “cocaine can adversely affect every organ in the body” and that “patients who abuse cocaine risk life-threatening consequences.” Some of the consequences included were severe hypertension, stroke, heart failure, seizures, hyperthermia, acute coronary syndrome and many more.

During a meeting session on black markets and drug policies, Petro said that fentanyl is the real problem, and that criminal organizations in Colombia could be “easily dismantled if cocaine were to be legalized around the world.” He also argued that underage consumption would not be an issue, as cocaine “could be sold like wine.”

This was the first time Colombia had live streamed a meeting like this, and after resulting in “rancor” and “acrimony,” it was cut short to instead show a youth soccer match, according to