The US government's "war on drugs" has been a catastrophic failure, resulting in widespread violence, corruption, and human suffering. Despite trillions of dollars spent on the effort, cocaine remains a widely available and highly profitable illicit commodity. In fact, its production has reached record levels, with purity and availability increasing exponentially over the past decade.
The problem is not the people who use cocaine, but rather the black market that profits from their addiction. The US government's approach has created a monster: an estimated 50 million global consumers, $80 billion in annual sales, and cartels controlling vast territories of Latin America.
Prohibition has failed to reduce usage or eliminate trafficking. Instead, it has fueled violence and corruption. In many places, the war on drugs is being waged as a militarized conflict, resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties worldwide.
Even Scandinavian gangs are now involved in the cocaine trade. The result is a global crisis that demands a new approach. Legalizing cocaine would deprive organized crime groups of their most profitable income stream and reduce the threat of contamination with fentanyl.
Trump's latest campaign against boats suspected of carrying drugs has already seen at least 83 people killed in extrajudicial airstrikes. This kind of militarized response will only drive traffickers to more sophisticated methods, making it even harder for authorities to detect.
It's time for a grown-up conversation about the true nature of the problem and the need for a new policy direction. Legalization would not be a sign of moral weakness but rather a pragmatic acknowledgment that prohibition has failed.
As one expert noted, "Legalization is the only way to change the story of cocaine from field to nose, being written in other people's blood." It's time to put an end to this catastrophic experiment and seek a more effective solution.
The problem is not the people who use cocaine, but rather the black market that profits from their addiction. The US government's approach has created a monster: an estimated 50 million global consumers, $80 billion in annual sales, and cartels controlling vast territories of Latin America.
Prohibition has failed to reduce usage or eliminate trafficking. Instead, it has fueled violence and corruption. In many places, the war on drugs is being waged as a militarized conflict, resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties worldwide.
Even Scandinavian gangs are now involved in the cocaine trade. The result is a global crisis that demands a new approach. Legalizing cocaine would deprive organized crime groups of their most profitable income stream and reduce the threat of contamination with fentanyl.
Trump's latest campaign against boats suspected of carrying drugs has already seen at least 83 people killed in extrajudicial airstrikes. This kind of militarized response will only drive traffickers to more sophisticated methods, making it even harder for authorities to detect.
It's time for a grown-up conversation about the true nature of the problem and the need for a new policy direction. Legalization would not be a sign of moral weakness but rather a pragmatic acknowledgment that prohibition has failed.
As one expert noted, "Legalization is the only way to change the story of cocaine from field to nose, being written in other people's blood." It's time to put an end to this catastrophic experiment and seek a more effective solution.