• Has the time come to legalize drugs?

    The Oppenheimer Report
    Andres Oppenheimer
    The Miami Herald
    Thursday, August 12, 2010

    Legalization of drugs -- long an issue championed mainly by fringe groups -- is rapidly moving to the mainstream in Latin America.  Last week's surprise statement by former Mexican President Vicente Fox in support of "legalizing production, sales and distribution" of drugs made big headlines around the world.

  • A war on drugs? No, this is a war on the Mexican people

    29,000 dead, human rights leaders murdered, the constitution violated – the price of President Calderón's popularity bid
    The Guardian (UK)
    Thursday 12 August 2010

    Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, began his administration in 2000 with a popular festival. Felipe Calderón, who took over in 2006, began his with a show of military force. His affinity for uniforms, army brass bands and public events with the armed forces makes an overt connection between the military and the executive that was unusual in Mexican politics before his presidency.

  • Mexico rethinks drugs strategy as violence escalates

    Rising fatalities spur calls for legalisation as president admits military tactics are failing.
    The Guardian (UK)
    Wednesday 11 August 2010

    Mexico's  president, Felipe Calderón, launched his presidency three and a half years ago with an unprecedented military-led offensive against the country's drug cartels. Since then 28,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence that continues to escalate, with little sign that the power of the traffickers has been reduced.

  • Ex-Mexico president calls for legalizing drugs

    The Associated Press
    Sunday, August 8, 2010

    Former President Vicente Fox is joining with those urging his successor to legalize drugs in Mexico, saying that could break the economic power of the country's brutal drug cartels. Fox's comments, posted Sunday on his blog, came less than a week after President Felipe Calderon agreed to open the door to discussions about the legalization of drugs, even though he stressed that he remained opposed to the idea.

  • Permitir uso inhibe adicciones

    En la política y la legislación holandesas se hace una distinción entre cannabis y drogas “duras”, como éxtasis, cocaína y heroína
    El Universal
    Lunes, 9 de agosto, 2010

    La legalización del consumo y venta de drogas “blandas” (mariguana y hachís) en Holanda resultó un éxito para el sistema de salud de ese país, al disminuir el nivel de adicción a estas sustancias entre su población.

  • The problem is more than just the substances, it's the prohibition itself

    When police crack down on drug users and dealers, the result is almost always an increase in violence
    Maria Lucia Karam
    The Observer
    Sunday, August 8, 2010

    Maria Lucia Karam, a retired Brazilian judge, argues that drugs should be legalised - but regulated. Every country that has provided a glimpse of what a regulated future might look like has experienced lowered rates of death, disease, crime and addiction.

  • Marijuana Legalization Gaining Favor in Mexico

    Frustration With Drug War Causing Shift; U.S. Stance Still an Obstacle
    Lauren Villagran
    The Dallas Morning News
    Sunday, August 8, 2010

    "I don't think that marijuana legalization will be a panacea on drug violence in Mexico," said David Shirk, director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego.  "But legalization could change the nature of the fight.  Drugs are so much more profitable than any other form of illicit activity.  You take away that profitability, and you cripple the organizations' ability to corrupt the state."

  • Why the US and Latin America could be ready to end a fruitless 40-year struggle

    The Observer (UK)
    Sunday, August 8, 2010

    Mexico's president Felipe Caldéron is the latest Latin leader to call for a debate on drugs legalisation. And in the US, liberals and right-wing libertarians are pressing for an end to prohibition. Forty years after President Nixon launched the 'war on drugs' there is a growing momentum to abandon the fight.

  • Mephedrone found not guilty, but the next legal high may be a killer

    Former Lib Dem MP Evan Harris argues that the rush to make mephedrone illegal – despite a lack of evidence it had caused deaths – has put young people in even greater danger
    The Guardian (UK)
    Thursday, 5 August 2010

    The mephedrone scare started at the end of 2009 when newspapers and the BBC reported that Gabrielle Price, a 14-year-old girl from Brighton, had died after taking the drug. The story was based on rumour and police statements. The hysteria over mephedrone is a classic example of indulgent moral outrage at the expense of a common-sense harm reduction strategy.

  • De “no hay alternativa” a “enséñenme la salida”

    Jorge Hernández Tinajero
    El Universal (México)
    Jueves 5 de agosto de 2010

    Aun cuando tarde, siempre será bienvenida la disposición presidencial para admitir la necesidad de un debate largamente pospuesto en su administración: la de los verdaderos resultados de su “guerra contra las drogas”, en el marco de su estrategia contra el crimen organizado.

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