COLLUSION BEHIND COCAINE PROFITS

The Big Issue: Drugs And Ethics

Antony Barnett's article lends weight to the call to cocaine users to end
their support for the blood-soaked supply chain and stop using the drug. At
the same time he colludes with extra-judicial killings of traffickers by a
smiling Colombian coastguard.

The high price of cocaine is created by its illegality and this fuels the
conflict in Colombia. Prohibition lies at the root of the blood letting and
it is nothing more than an act of distraction to blame users. Were there to
be a fairly-traded alternative to illegal cocaine, many would choose to buy
it. That way we could support community enterprises in a developing country
rather than collude with a trade forced upon Colombians by trade tariffs
and a politically motivated, US-backed drug war.

Danny Kushlick, Director, Transform Drug Policy Foundation Bristol 5