Article #770

Foreign minister says legalisation of main ingredient of cocaine is only way to stop drug trafficking and violence

Colombia, whose president, Gustavo Petro, is a vocal critic of the US-led war on drugs, has urged the UN to remove coca – the main ingredient in cocaine – from a list of harmful substances.

Used not only for cocaine, the coca leaf is also chewed as a stimulant in countries such as Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, or brewed into a tea thought to combat altitude sickness.