There is currently a record-high cocaine boom happening globally, with production almost doubling in the past decade.
This increase in production is driven by a combination of higher demand and more acreage being used for coca farming, as well as increased productivity on these farms.
And demand is increasing as cocaine reaches new markets around the world, including Africa and Asia, where seizures of the drug have increased significantly in recent years. Established markets in Europe are also awash with the drug.
This all highlights the failure of the ‘war on drugs’ to prevent the production, distribution and consumption of drugs.
Golden age
“We’re living in the golden age of cocaine,” author and Colombian drug trade Toby Muse told Bloomberg. “Cocaine is reaching corners of the planet that have never seen it before, because there is so much of the drug.”
About 2,000 tons of cocaine is now being produced per year, almost double the amount a decade ago, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Satellite photos from last year show that the amount of Colombian land planted with coca rose to more than five times what it was when Escobar was at his most productive.
Additionally, sophisticated drug cartels have got very good at concealing the drug and moving it in large quantities around the world. In particular, traffickers rely on commercial cargo ships sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to smuggle the drug to markets in Europe and other regions.
This allows them to utilise the global trade network to reach overseas markets with unprecedented scale and efficiency.
Europe
“Europe is awash with cocaine,” said Laurent Laniel, the chief scientific analyst at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, an EU agency. “The supply is just unheard of.”
The average purity of cocaine on the streets of Europe has risen to more than 60%, from 37% in 2010. This increase in purity is likely due to a combination of factors, including increased production of the drug and the efforts of drug cartels to smuggle larger quantities of purer cocaine to markets around the world.
Back in 2018, more young adults in Britain took cocaine than anywhere else in Europe, and we’re probably still near the top of the leaderboard.
Not long ago, traces of a cocaine were found at a government grace-and-favour home after parties attended by political allies of Liz Truss, the Guardian reported.
War on drugs failing
The fact that we’re in some global cocaine boom highlights some of the negative consequences of the war on drugs.
There’s no doubt that the consequences of an unregulated global cocaine trade increases violence, corruption, and profits for drug cartels.
Legalisation and regulation of drugs could potentially help to reduce the power and influence of drug cartels, as well as the associated violence and corruption, by taking the drug trade out of the hands of illegal organisations and placing it under the control of the state.
Legalisation could also potentially reduce the overall harm of drugs by providing safer and more controlled sources of the substances. This would help to reduce the negative consequences of drug use for individuals and communities.
Summary
We are in a global cocaine boom, which is being fuelled by increased production and sophisticated drug cartels that are able to smuggle large quantities of the drug to new markets around the world.
The negative consequences of the cocaine trade include violence, corruption, and huge profits for drug cartels.
Could these consequences could potentially be reduced through the legalisation and regulation of cocaine.
Legalisation and regulation could help to take the drug trade out of the hands of illegal organisations and place it under the control of the state, potentially reducing the power and influence of drug cartels and the associated violence and corruption.
Legalisation could also potentially reduce the overall harm of cocaine use by providing safer and more controlled sources of the drug.
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