Backpackers heading to South America in their droves for cocaine @ $5 a gram

Western backpackers are flocking to the cocaine-paved streets of South America because of its relaxed laws on drugs and the increased availability of the narcotic, experts warn.

It is known as a rich man’s drug in Australia, the US and the UK, but in Colombia cocaine can be sold for as little as $5 per gram and personal possession of up to 1g is legal.

Criminal justice strategic professor Andrew Goldsmith says there are are more and more Western travellers heading to places such as Colombia to indulge in the ‘easy availability of cocaine’, the ABC reports.

Professor Goldsmith worked in Colombia as a police reform adviser and warns drug cartels are attracted to travellers as they hold passports which are the ticket to transporting the drug to Western countries.

He adds that drug mules are commonplace and are known to freely cooperate with traffickers, and said it is ‘difficult to imagine how one could be completely unknowing’.

The culture of drugs in South America has transformed the Colombian cocaine trade into a tourist attraction.

Backpackers in South American countries like Colombia, Mexico and Peru are drawn to the superficial allure of wild nightclubs, cheap shopping and a gentle dusting of the addictive white powder.

Caught up in the whirl of partying and the recreational drug scene, travellers develop an invincible attitude which convinces them to become a one-time drug mule – without delving too far into the real-world consequences.

Professor Goldsmith said Colombian jails are overcrowded with travellers just like 22-year-old South Australian woman Cassandra Sainsbury who was allegedly found with 5.8kg of cocaine concealed in headphone packages.

Red flags in Ms Sainsbury’s claims of innocence includes her third-party purchased plane ticket and the fact she had never travelled to Colombia before, he said.

MORE HERE: Western travellers drawn to cocaine trail in South America | Daily Mail Online