Colombia lawmakers seek to take control of cocaine market. It’s a long shot
Colombia has suffered a slew of massacres this year, many of them linked to the ongoing conflicts
Monday, September 21, 2020
Legislators weary of Colombia’s whack-a-mole anti-narcotics efforts propose to stop the often violent trafficking of cocaine that has plagued the country for decades. The plan calls for the national government to take control of the drug market by purchasing coca leaf harvests and regulating cocaine sales. The challenges include cost, pushback from an international community that wants to maintain the status quo, and the potential reaction of an illegal drug empire that does not hesitate to use violence to get its way. The legislators who authored the bill, which is scheduled for congressional debate in October, insist the approach could reduce the waste of public funds, help protect Colombia’s environment and generate a better public health approach to the issue of drug consumption.
