Colombia has urged the United Nations to remove coca (a major ingredient in cocaine) from its list of harmful substances, where President Gustavopetro is a critic of the US-led drug war voice and removes cocaine (a key ingredient in cocaine) from its list.
Not only cocaine, but coca leaves have also been brewed tea to fight severe diseases in countries such as Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador as stimulants.
Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Saravia insisted on Monday that Leo “is not harmful to health in itself.”
Removed from the 1961 UN list of harmful drugs alongside cocaine and heroin, “maximum potential for industrial applications such as fertilizers and beverages.”
She argued that legalization was the only way to stop drug traffickers who monopolize the plant. The rural communities were forced to grow it for them, and destroyed the forests for its cultivation.
Sarabia said the billions of dollars spent in the so-called war on drugs did nothing to stop consumption, production and human trafficking.
In fact, she said the number of cocaine recreational users has increased by over 50 million over the decade.
Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine, much of its production is produced by drug cartels and violent guerrilla groups.
In 2023, the South American country set a new record last year for coca leaf cultivation and cocaine production. This increased 53% from 1,738 tonnes (1,915 US tonnes) to 2,600 tonnes, according to the United Nations.
The US is the largest cocaine consumer.
Petro, the country's first left-wing president, has sought to change his approach to combat drug trafficking, focusing on preventing potential users and finding alternative incomes for coca farmers.
Last month he raised a few eyebrows when he said cocaine “isn't worse than whiskey.” It's illegal because it comes from Latin America.
“If peace is needed, we have to dismantle our (drug trafficking) businesses,” he said at a government meeting. “Legalizing cocaine around the world makes it easy to dismantle. It's sold like wine.”
Sarabia on Monday argued that changing from a punitive approach to a more humane approach does not mean “normalising or coexistence with drug trafficking.”
Colombian authorities have seized more than 1,900 tons of cocaine and destroyed 454 secret laboratories since Peter took office in August 2022 until January this year, the minister said.
