Cocaine production in Colombia reaches historic levels

As per the UN’s yearly report, Colombia witnessed the highest level of land utilization for growing coca plants in its history last year.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that the amount of coca being grown had increased by 24% since 2021.

Coca leaves are important to make cocaine and for a long time, Colombia has been the biggest producer of this illegal drug.

The amount of land used to grow coca bushes increased by 13%. The areas close to Colombia’s borders had the largest increase.

Around 66% of the coca crops are located in the provinces of Nariño and Putumayo, which are next to Ecuador, and in Norte de Santander, which is close to the Venezuelan border.

The amount of coca plants grown in Putumayo has increased by 77%. Putumayo is located near Peru and Ecuador.

Candice Welsch, who works for the UN, said it’s concerning that more coca plants are being grown in the country every year.
Growing Coca plants in Colombia. Please explain the text I am about to provide using simpler language. This refers to the amount of land in Colombia that is used to grow coca plants, measured in hectares.
Colombia’s Justice Minister, Néstor Osuna, stated that his country was successfully reducing the number of new cases and that the rate of increase was much lower than last year.

But, Leonardo Correa from the UNODC said that the amount of coca being grown has increased a lot in 2022.

The plants that were small last year are now fully grown and producing a lot of crops. Put simply, the amount of land being added each year is decreasing. “But he said that the production of cocaine is increasing at a faster rate. ”

The amount of land in Colombia being used to grow coca plants and the amount of cocaine that could be produced from it are currently the highest they have been since the UN started keeping track in 2001.

Colombia grows the most coca plants, which are used to make cocaine. They produce 60% of all the cocaine in the world. Peru and Bolivia also grow a lot of coca plants.

President Gustavo Petro asked his colleagues, who are leaders of other regions, to change their approach in dealing with drug use. He suggested that they should focus on treating drug use as a health problem rather than using military tactics.

He said at a conference on drugs in Cali that it is time to build hope and not continue the violent and fierce wars. He also said that drugs should be seen as a health issue, not a military problem for society.
His Mexican partner, Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the most important thing is to fight against poverty and inequality, and to provide jobs and fair pay.

He said farmers should be persuaded to stop growing marijuana, poppies, and coca and start growing beans, corn, cocoa, and fruit trees instead.

Mexico is where some really strong drug gangs are based. They control the paths that drugs take from South America to the United States and Europe.

It also makes a lot of drugs like heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine, and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.