Baltimore Business Daily

Is it true that the cocaine exports can benefit a country for example colombia?

Ive heard that in Cartagena, colombia most of the tall sky scrapers are a product of colombias illegal drug trade. Is this true that the illegal drug trade can fund construction and help the economy and how is it possible?

Public Comments

1. A country is made up of it's people, some of the cocaine growers give their workers a half-decent salary for their work (SOME). It's true, the illegal drug trade can be used to help tackle poverty. Look at Afghanistan, for example.
2. Yes. And the slave trade helped build a lot of ports around the world in the 19th century . Not sure commercializing vice is consequently a good idea.
3. regardless of whether they're legal or illegal, drugs will always fuel economies and not just in colombia's case.. the black market holds the US economy together, and is one reason why certain drugs, such as marijuana are kept illegal..because the government can make more money when they are
4. It can and does. For example, if the people behind the drug trafficking do not get caught, they spend their money in Colombia and invest in the economy.
5. I'm not so sure...i would disagree with everyone who says yes...Colombian cocaine trafficking does make enough money a year to have a GDP which would rank a country at like 24 or 25 in a list of countries GDPs greatest to lowest...so i mean its a lot of money and sounds like it would help but actually its a black market price, so if it were made legal it would significantly drop in price...it wouldn't help any more then growing coffee for example (if made legal)..and coffee grows in the exact same environment and altitude...it helps a little at its black market price for those Colombian civilians that can get a piece of it.. ***if not made legal then it uses up space for things they can legally make money off of like coffee so they lose the money that could potentially be there if that makes sense...remember the majority of the cocaine trade is run through FARC not the government...the government does not ever see the drug trade money and its not distributed to the Colombian people..so those sky scrapers are definitely not from cocaine