Some shops in remote villages of the Columbian jungle Scales are replacing the conventional cash register. The currency used here is coca paste, not cash. Coins and bills are rare and something you may see on television. In this country, everything is priced in grams. What is the cost of a beer? 1.4 grams, which is equivalent to 60 cents. One pound of meat? Doubling that to 2.8 grams. Cell phones? One hundred ninety-four grams, which is $80.
The residents of these isolated areas of cocaine production have a huge stockpile of kilos and tons of cocaine, which will then be transferred to a cartel middleman who distributes the product to nightclubs within New York, Madrid and Rome by multiplying their worth by 100. For all intents and purposes, the drugs are legal in these secret Columbian villages, which require many days to travel to by way of the river. Would this acceptance extend to the rest of the nation? Maybe even the entire world?
The debate has gained momentum in Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producer. “If there’s a need to begin this debate, the first place to start is Colombia – – no anyone else will take on the task,” says Catalina Gil Pinzon, who is a drug policy advisor with Open Society Foundations, an organization headed by the philanthropist George Soros that champions civil society groups across the world.
It could be the right time. The new Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, talks zealously about changing the drug war model established by President Richard Nixon half a century ago. The consensus is that putting money into chasers of cartel leaders and forcibly exterminating coca plantations have not been successful. If a crop is treated in one region, the plant will inevitably reappear in another area. The supply of cocaine to the US was at a record high in 2021. Colombia is producing more than it has ever. Washington has spent 10 billion dollars over the last 20 years because of ineffective policies.
The first people to push for legalization are those in charge of the public’s coffers. The director of Colombian customs and taxes, Luis Carlos Reyes, said, “Cocaine must be legalized and taxed.” Additionally, Petro recently collaborated with The Economist to produce an editorial in which US President Joe Biden is accused of being too cautious about legalization. Biden recently released thousands of Americans for possessing some marijuana. The editorial questioned whether he would do the same thing to those convicted of possessing cocaine. You will also get online legal cocaine for sale if things go well.
But Petro’s justice minister repeatedly denied that Petro’s government would allow cocaine to be legalized as no government currently would like to be seen as being tolerant of drugs; however, Petro’s first enthusiasm for legalization has not been translated into a firm determination to legalize the drug.
The former guerrilla leader is investing in a plan to allow farmers access to undeveloped land purchased from ranchers. It is the first major agricultural reform to be implemented in Colombia, thereby creating an industry of food with enough economic return to cover the losses incurred by turning away from the cultivation of coca leaves. These substitution strategies haven’t always been effective previously. “It’s unlikely to be successful in the absence of an extensive global cocaine market,” says Gil Pinzon, who believes it’s vital to discredit drugs. “Consumption is not a snoozer, regardless of the measures we take. Drugs don’t always result in problematic consumption, overdose or even death.”
Similar to tobacco and alcohol, in the same way, if cocaine was legal, the public could choose between drinking it or not. There aren’t many studies that study the effects of cocaine addiction. According to Gil Pinzon, the massive sums used to purchase weapons to combat cartels could be used to study the effects of cocaine and information campaigns and access to health services.
The cocaine regulatory issue
The black market in which white powder is traded has led to the creation of criminal gangs capable of battling the security forces with heavy weapons, similar to what happened during the wars in Mexico in Mexico and Colombia. Drug lords like El Chapo Guzman or Pablo Escobar are mythical figures today. Politicians and officials from regions that produce cocaine are in the hands of these elusive figures and their states. Legalization might weaken cartels as it could decrease their primary source of income. “It is not going to eliminate them, but a change in their financial position could impact them,” says Juan Carlos Garzon. He is an associate researcher with Ideas for Peace, a US organization, Ideas for Peace. According to Garzon, the legalization of recreational marijuana use could be a model for how things will happen should cocaine be pursued in the same manner. “It isn’t a matter of selling it at supermarkets; however, it is about having the right regulations and creating legal wealth,” Garzon states.
Cocaine is, in fact, the most difficult of drugs in terms of regulation. A study conducted by the Transform Drug Policy Foundation notes that this is partly because there’s a huge variety of products made from coca that range from leaf unprocessed to cocaine powder to smokable crack. Also, it has a complex process and supply chain. It is frequently viewed as the privilege of those with wealth. However, in reality, it is accessible to more of the populace. “As it becomes less expensive and more readily available and more accessible, the need for regulation becomes more urgent,” according to the Transform Drug Policy study. “A public health approach should concentrate on reducing the possible adverse effects of its use.”
It is often said in Colombia that should the US have had plantations of coca, the entire world would have been inundated with McCocaine’s. However, North America has a supreme monopoly over overdoses, whereas Latin America has a monopoly on the deaths of violent people and the instability of their democratic democracies. This is why it’s an issue that is bi national. Regulating in Colombia will not make sense if it is not followed by other countries that consume the drug. The market in Colombia is small, and if legally legalized only for Colombia, the cartels will continue to make the same amount of money they did when selling drugs illegally. Regulation is an arduous task, and the fact that a subject that was taboo subject until recently is now being discussed even now has created a floodgate. In the future, those tiny Colombian cities in completely uninhabited areas could claim they were the first to introduce.
