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Cocaine ‘is not any worse than whiskey’ – these are the words of Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro.
He said during a live broadcast of a government meeting that the drug is barely illegal since it comes from Latin America.
The president said: ‘Cocaine is against the law since it is made in Latin America, not since it is worse than whiskey.
‘Scientists have analysed this. Cocaine is not any worse than whiskey.
‘For those who want peace, you have got to dismantle the business (of drug trafficking).
‘It could easily be dismantled in the event that they legalise cocaine on the earth. It might be sold like wine.’
Petro also referred to the fentanyl crisis that has gripped the US that is just not made in Colombia.
He added: ‘Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals and those that consumed it became addicted.’
Colombia is the highest coca producer on the earth – producing 60% of the world’s cocaine – followed by other South American nations including Peru and Bolivia.
An annual UN report said that Colombia’s cocaine production reached a record high and that production had risen by 21% since 2021, despite the country spending many years attempting to tackle the blight.
The country’s largest exports are to the US and Europe.
Petro has tried to make peace with the armed groups answerable for the rise in a bid to finish conflict.
Impact of cocaine on the body
Cocaine affects people otherwise but most individuals report these symptoms when taking it, in response to Frank.
- Faster heart rate
- raised body temperature
- feel sick and/or need to go to the bathroom more
- Excited
- confident and/or anxious
- completely happy
- panicky
- risk-taking
It takes about 5 to 10 minutes for cocaine to kick in and the consequences last for 30 to 40 minutes on average.
A number of the common risks of taking cocaine include a panic attack, heart attack and/or stroke if any person takes an excessive amount of cocaine. Regular use could make you’re feeling depressed and run down.
The country continues to be haunted in some ways by the ‘King of Cocaine’, Pablo Escobar.
He founded the notorious Medellín Cartel, which distributed powder cocaine, and established the primary smuggling routes from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, through Colombia and eventually into the US.
But he was also seen as a ‘Robin Hood’ type figure for helping locals with community projects comparable to the development of homes and football fields.
Escobar was eventually killed in his hometown by police a day after his forty fourth birthday.
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