Juan Manuel Santos calls for a discussion on the legalization of cocaine

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ explicit—though lukewarm—support for the legalization of marijuana and other soft drugs. This weekend, in an interview with The Observer, Santos was blunter in saying that, “I would talk about legalising marijuana and more than just marijuana… I might consider legalising cocaine if there is a world consensus because this drug has affected us most here in Colombia.”


Once again, Santos emphasized the need for a global debate on prohibition and new approaches to drug policy. As The Guardian points out:

“It is difficult to overestimate the symbolic importance of a Colombian president entering the debate with such force, given the central role drugs have played in his country’s recent bloody history. Santos is all too aware of the symbolism and of the role he is playing.”

Tomorrow Cato will host a major conference on how to end the global war on drugs. The event will be live streamed from our website at www​.cato​.org/live beginning at 9:05am ET.