but remember people of stature here like their coke and prolly protect it all the way back to the cartel
That and also there have been quite a number of credible stories coming out over the past decades about various factions in our intelligence services using it to supplement their funding in addition to the usual corrupt local officials doing their part.
It does again come down to you can't fight human nature unless human nature changes willingly. Just as religions based on a similar root, have tried to vilify sex & the human body for 4000 years but it kept popping up everywhere as it's a part of human nature. Just like drinking alcohol, religions using the government have been trying to fight against it for near 1000 years but it's not going away.
I think people need to seriously learn the lessons from prohibition.
Before the stupid religious driven prohibition, a small percentage of the population chose to ruin their lives and the lives of their families & those they came in contact with by abusing alcohol.
Once stupid religious zealots go prohibition passed, people still drank, but now it was under the control of criminals and a wave of violence swept the country like nothing ever seen before as the demand and reward spurred and endless cycle of violence which the government then used to grant themselves more powers at the expense of your freedoms and never let go of. While many officials at various levels lined their pockets well to let things slide.
Then when people finally came to their senses and repealed the prohibition sort of, the criminal issue & violence disappeared. We still have a small percent of the population that chooses to abuse alcohol and ruin their own lives, the lives of their families and those they come into contact with. But we no longer have criminals controlling a large market, nor do we have to worry about the alcohol cartels having raging alcohol wars gunning down people in the streets and turning areas of cities or countries into war zones.
This whole endless, pointless "war on drugs", won't be solved till people are willing to give up their religion/prejudice/culturally biased, incorrectly based ideas and opinions, sit down and have an honest intelligent non-biased look at history, human nature, free will, free choice & individualistic freedom. Then work out a way to help people of their own free will not ruin their lives by abusing things and having the mental tools needed to overcome their problems instead of masking them. It would take a huge change in society, but if it was done, then there would not be much of a problem with drugs, alcohol, food or a number of things, people could do as they wanted and not mess up their lives & the lives of others.