Colombian President Gustavo Petro used his appearance at the United Nations (UN) on Tuesday to defend the possible legalization of cocaine production and marketing worldwide, claiming that cocaine causes “minimal overdose deaths.”
“Which is more toxic to humans: cocaine, coal, or oil? The ruling power has decreed that cocaine is the poison and must be prosecuted. Even if it causes few deaths from overdose and more from illegal mixtures.”
“On the other hand, coal and oil must be protected, even if their use could wipe out all humanity.”
“These are the things of world power, the things of injustice (…),”
said the leftist leader at the UN, trying to dress his speech in favor of the legalization of drugs in an environmentally friendly tone.
“¿Qué es más venenoso para el ser humano? ¿La cocaína, el carbón o el petróleo?”.
Petro en la ONU plantea que los minerales hacen más daño que la droga. pic.twitter.com/vokBwIUSkk
— Orlando Avendaño (@OrlvndoA) September 20, 2022
Since the presidential campaign, Petro’s opponents have expressed concern about the policies the former guerrilla fighter might impose on the issue if he comes to power.
A month ago, the president himself indicated he was willing to expand the legalization of cannabis cultivation in Colombia.
“If we legalize cannabis, are we going to lock up all these people in overcrowded prisons, or is it time to release many people?” (…)
“They have been criminalized for something that is legal in large part of the United States,” he said.
Former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana immediately reacted to Petro’s speech, accusing its content of making the current president appear as a “big cocaine boss.”
“Shame on you! Petro declares himself before the UN as the great cocaine king. He denies the impact on public health and despises the deaths left by the mafia with which he is now in power, like the Supreme Court massacred by his M-19 for Pablo Escobar,” said the conservative ex-president.