How to Solve the Cocaine Problem || July 13, 2026
It would appear that my suggestion for everyone to stop doing cocaine hasn't solved the problem, so let's look at some of the solutions others have proposed.
What about domestic cocaine production? The U.S. doesn't have the extremely specific tropical growing conditions necessary for coca plants. What about legalizing cocaine? Healthcare costs and reduced worker productivity would likely outweigh any savings from reduced law enforcement or tax revenue.
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Comments (71)
Legalizing Mate de Coca would be a good start: the peasants would have something to sell, that’s not illegal, just like coffee. And it has like 10000x less cocaine in it, than snorting a line.
You forgot to blame Trump for this?
I can solve the cocaine problem. Step 1: Film someone on cocaine Step 2: Show them the video (it's very important that they are not on cocaine at this point) Step 3: Once they've realised how boring and full of it they are on cocaine (which will come as a shock because they think they're the opposite on cocaine) they'll be too embarrassed to continue. IMPORTANT: Some people are immune to thinking they're anything less than amazing, on cocaine or sober. These people are unfortunately a lost cause and the kindest thing to do is to load them onto a rocket ship and fire them into the Sun. Next week: How to solve Heroin :)
T
Perhaps importing coca could bypass the initial issue?
Still waiting to see the "Peter Zeihan says 'DON'T DO COCAINE '" t-shirts.
Bring back model airplane glue!
Q1: what about Hawaii? Q2: what about meth?
This is one of those topics where I can hear my lawyer saying don’t saying anything, don’t even think about it! 🙄🤷♂️
Taint all the captured cocaine with that bug going around that causes explosive diarrhea and then put it back into circulation. J.K.
Vancouver Canada has an open drug policy with a decriminalization policy that started January 31, 2023. Since then it's been wonderful. As you might expect, it attracted drug addicts from across Canada and now my kids can enjoy dodging dirty needles everywhere. Fun times!
When was the last time Hawaii got frost?
Drugs are bad, M'Kay.
Dude.
Often a passionate proponent of Peter’s informed perspectives. Everyone has their blind areas, this is so clearly his. So throughly ignorant and WRONG. A man who loves good real world evidence entirely Ignoring 50 years of CLEAR results from the War on Drugs. Literally hundreds of Billions of US tax dollars wasted for essentially no tangible result. The audience commenting here is overwhelmingly square and ignorant of the reality of these issues, to the point of being comical 😂. Which is why we will burn through billions more. -*See Carsten’s smart post on Portugal above. -The EU is about 550M. Have dramatically less drug issues and crime, but particularly in each country of decriminalization & treatment. Netherlands, Switzerland, Nordics etc. -See real US results of legal Cannabis states. Organized crimes involvement implodes, or goes legit (alcohol), or is MUCH easier to police & root out. (See last weeks Newsome in CA operations). Funded by significant tax flows & growing slowly maturing industry. -Those Singapore & ‘tough on crime’ fans here are ignorant that in Singapore the Triads & Yakuza orgs are strong, so long as it’s private, controlled. From working slave class to the wealthy parties w/ everything. The US has had the harshest drug laws at scale. The most substance incarceration of any country in history by far annnd the results speak for themselves. -Saying ‘just don’t do it!’ Your ignorant farm boy from the midwest is still showing. It ignores the inherent role of intoxicants in human evolution as omnivores. Alcoholism is as bad as any other substances addiction or dangers. We live with it and manage it legally. How many illegal distillers do you hear about these days? Exactly 100 years ago today? -The cartels at the top are large pharma & Ag companies. Those that are sophisticated will evolve and integrate. Heard of Kennedy or Seagrams families & their political power much? This would end MASSIVE amounts of violence, petty crime by addicts, deaths, human trafficking and much more. ***Pay off: if you made it this far. The harsh REALITY is the law enforcement, attorneys, judges & prison industrial complex is a powerful lobbying industry. They let criminals cycle in and out and charge all along the way. While spending your tax dollars. Want a glimmer of hope? The potential disruptions of AI to the Legal System miiight open a window for change & transformation. But only if voters are aware of reality & not fear.
My father William Andrew "Gary" Wilson was a child psychiatrist who pushed back against the findings of the Le Dain Commission that ran between 1969 to 1972 in Canada. The Le Dain Commission was an inquiry into the non-medical use of drugs. This included softening of the laws against the use of marijuana which in retrospect was rather draconian. Holding that aside, my father felt compelled to argue against the direction of the commision as he had seen so many young people adversely affected by the use of hard drugs such as speed, heroin, cocaine, psychedelics and the recreational use of prescription drugs. The illicit drug trade is an outcome of supply and demand. Looking back on the 1960s, what did the US government do? The DEA, created by President Richard M. Nixon went after the supply side. Some 60 years later, how has that gone? Now, let's look at the current state of American society. According to Professor Paul Krugman it is a mistake to compare the wealth disparity of Americans in 2026 to the infamous Gilded Age (i.e. late 1870s to late 1890s) when robber barons called the shots. Nope, the equivalent of that level of inequality was eclipsed 10 to 20 years ago. Right here, the wealth disparity is more than double of the Gilded Age. Let that sink in for a moment. What happens to otherwise fine people when every single day they are fighting to make ends meet. After a while, stress becomes crushing and the urge to self medicate overwhelms. FWIW, I'm not a puritan and yeah I've been to that rodeo before. Sure, produce cocaine in America (note: not feasible) would crimp illicit producers but what good is that going to do if nothing is done to address the roots of the problem? The underlying reasons for American demand to escape their problems by getting high must be genuinely addressed. If even a dent can be made and collectively American mental health improves on average, surely suppliers will fall into harder times. If demand falls, mobilizing the military less of an imperative. I reiterate Nixon's "War on Drugs" was a failure and what has Trump's bombing of fishing boats in the Caribbean accomplished? Nothing other than yet another feeble attempt to gaslight Americans. One last thing, if the US is really serious about ridding itself of drug abuse, revamping the US education and health systems could further fortify America's collective mental health. This is a demand driven issue. Improve economic opportunity, increase awareness and foster critical thinking. Fortify the people. Do that and opportunities for producers fades.
'🎶He don't like He don't like He don't like... Cocaine🎶'
Running this through ai conditioned to legalizing all drugs in the western hemisphere and europe. So where are we going wrong, not saying ai is all intelligent but simple saying just say no or go to the most destructive option (i’m sure you can grown mushrooms in the US no problem so not sure why we jump to fentanyl but ok). 10-20 year forecast: Outcome Estimated change Total adult drug use +10–25% Overdose deaths −60–80% overall Drug-related imprisonment −85–97% Domestic illegal drug retail −80–95% Organized-crime drug revenue −65–90% Total organized-crime revenue −35–65% Drug-market homicides −50–75% Overall homicide −15–35% Treatment participation +60–150% Government enforcement costs sharply lower Public-health spending sharply higher initially
What about hawaii? Or just glasshouse it.
Why not decriminalize all these bad drugs and then just void all public benefits? People wanna do drugs? Let them. And if they do, they choose to pay cash for their housing, healthcare and any other needs with zero government support.
Hawaii and Puerto Rico come to mind.
Good advice Peter. Just say “no”. If common sense doesn’t work, can’t help ya!
It actually wouldn’t be a wash because the point of legalization is to weaken or eliminate the cartels. Another option is increase availability of legal drugs like adderall ect.
So, we make a deal with Columbia, establish a state monopoly on importing and distribution stateside. Use Corsair UAVs to transport. Basically, outclass cartels across the whole supply chain. Sell the product diluted into flavored bottled water to control doses. Build the manufacturing plant inside a monastery and trust the monks to defend the stash. Simple as.
SOOOO much reality and humor in one short post. Great way to start the week. And no, I'm not on drugs.
LOL Thanks Dad. Just say No. But, nevertheless, it is genuinely good advice. We just have to engineer our world so people will not want to do the hard drugs. Simple! .... I wish.
Once again. Decriminalize all drugs. Sell OTC like alcoholic beverages but reduced regulation and taxation or nothing. The user population will be self regulating. Huge relief on the legal system (leos, courts, prisons). Initial costs will be fairly high (not a pun) but will stabilize at fairly low. Big advantage is end of drug gangs. The overall cost to society will stabilize at fairly low. Please don't give me all that bleeding heart 💩 about users being victims. Society will not collapse. Side effects can be managed. Societal pressures will mitigate excesses. You don't see many folks running around naked (yes, I know that is illegal as well).
I can't believe I'm going to say this ... but I agree with Mr. Pole on this one. I usually just skip his deranged posts, but since this one lacked the usually emojii storm, I took the time to read it. And it actually made sense! Pretty good start for a Monday. 😉
Universal healthcare might help ease the problem.
There’s addictions o plenty already. It’s the basis of sales and advertising.
I see the pro-fentanyl lobby has sunk its fangs deeply into our dear analyst...😜
Don't use alcohol either. Historical Fentanyl it is.
You know Singapore has a very successful policy. Seems like the best in the world.
I love the PSA, Thank You!
This type of content really keeps you on the street and narrow
Couldn't be worse than Russian vodka lowering life expectancy by like 20 years.
Hawaii?
We already have the most powerful drug on the planet, fully legal within the United States… It’s called reality television, and it will be the death of the empire
It's called alcohol
I wonder if long haired Peter would give a different answer…
I thought the Sakler family industrialized synthetic cocaine ie opioids, that worked really well … sorry to anyone that lost a loved one
You know nothing about drugs. 😂
FINALLY! SOMETHING WE BOTH AGREE ON! YAY!
Also just because we start making coke domestically, doesn't mean the cartels stop. Now it's a fake product and regulation problem, which is a cost comparison issue. So we're kind of hosed either way on that
The data is very clear on this. We need to implement the Portugal or Swiss models for dealing with drugs. Libertarians and conservatives need to accept that there is no solution where legalization or decriminalization alone are sufficient to address the problem without counseling and treatment. If you actually care about people and want them to be productive members of society again, you need to treat them like human beings. Yes, it costs a lot of money. No, nothing else will work. End of story.
Or Singapore and start treating people like grownups.
Nothing is better than morning coffee and talk on cocaine
"The cost of law enforcement" includes giving up more of our privacy from the government, and safety from violence from both government and criminals. Perhaps the questioner was asking from the viewpoint of the reduction of violence. Would having the pharmaceutical companies sell clean cocaine sourced from wherever, make our country safer?
Absolutely! Have to work with the S. American and other large drug suppliers and growers, but they are massive corps basically at the top. Would go like Cannabis. Much, much safer.
Rofl, loved the last comment!
dude really put a damper on my morning bump
Did you know that shifting from criminalizing to treating drug use has massive economic benefits? 💡 In 2001, Portugal **decriminalized** (rather than legalized) the personal possession of all drugs to adopt a health-led approach. Here is a look at the resulting economic wins: 📉 **Slashed Justice Costs:** Moving away from imprisonment dramatically eased the financial and administrative burden on the criminal justice system. The proportion of inmates sentenced for drug offenses plummeted from over 40% in 2001 to just 15.7% by 2019. 💰 **Reduced Social Costs:** A 2015 study showed that the total social costs of drug use in Portugal dropped by 12% between 2000 and 2004, and fell by a staggering 18% by 2010. 💼 **Retained Income:** This 18% drop was largely driven by a significant reduction in the expenses of criminal proceedings, as well as protecting the lost income of individuals who would have otherwise been locked up and unable to work.
Come on Peter! Think of all the businessplans!
LOL!
Making Nancy Reagan proud.
In the last analysis, legalizing any of the popular drugs, including marujuana, is a very bad idea. The libertarian position of legalizing drugs is actually a vote for anarchy. Anarchy doesn't work in any format, and I would think that's especially so when it comes to deadly drugs..
Cite your sources, because in the case of marijuana, I know you're mistaken. I'm not going to say that legalization has been without any negative impacts, but they have been far less harmful than alcohol abuse. That being said, I agree that the libertarian position falls flat on it's face. We need to look at Portugal or Switzerland as models for success.
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Who needs drugs when self-inflicted brain damage from reading this is totally free? 😂
https://youtu.be/cABZfkRcQ6A?is=X6rwvbC7ACtuzmNy
Man, Peter you are no fun at all. 😏
Peter Question: Why discuss cocaine, now … with your subscribers? Have things gone so badly that your subscribers are resorting to cocaine to cope with the geopolitical changes? Alternatively, are you telling us that a wave of cocaine is influencing our national leadership? Why are you discussing the cocaine issue, now… at this time in our history? At this point in time in your Vblog? Seriously, you have left out the motive for this discussion. Please explain.
Did you see the NY Times article about the drug problems in Estonia? They essentially crushed fentanyl by 2018, but have since been swamped by other analogs that are apparently even worse, specifically a type called nitazenes.
Can modified tobacco plant produce cocaine? The scientists were able to change the N. benthamiana plant so that it would create the enzymes on its own through genetic modification. Because of this alteration, the tobacco plant could now manufacture methylecgonine, the chemical foundation of cocaine, in its leaves.
Science to the rescue! Or not.
Disappointing. This wasn’t about how to solve the cocaine problem, it was about how a proposed solution was unworkable.
...don't do drugs?
Fine Peter I'll go back to huffing paint thinner
...not for long.
If we had to choose, as a nation, between cocaine and Data Centers.. would that be enough to stop the cocaine?
Data centers would be so much cheaper to enforce, but realistically what makes you think that anyone connected to power really cares how much the government puts on the taxpayers' credit cards? Right now it's both. Neither seems to be the political choice, though that obviously won't work, because of human behavior.