Mexico City, Mexico: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has called for an international debate regarding the criminal prohibition of cannabis and other drugs.
“I believe it’s time to open the debate over legalizing drugs,” Fox told CNN on Wednesday. “It can’t be that the only way (to control illicit drug use) is for the state to use force.”
Fox said that such a debate “must be done in conjunction with the United States.”
Last month, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan told CBS’s Face the Nation that legalizing marijuana could potentially quell ongoing border violence. “This (legalization) is a debate that needs to be taken seriously – that we have to engage in on both sides of the border,” he said.
Two weeks ago, Mexican lawmakers enacted legislation to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of controlled substances. The measure awaits approval from Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
According to the Associated Press, Mexican drug cartels now derive an estimated 60 percent of their income from illicit pot sales.
In February, a commission of former Latin American presidents – including ex-Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo – called for the removal of penalties regarding the personal possession and use of cannabis, stating, “The problem is that current (anti-drug) policies are based on prejudices and fears and not on results.”
U.S. government officials have dismissed calls to debate the merits of regulating adult marijuana use, maintaining that the option is “not on the table.”
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at: (202) 483-5500.