News Column

As Mexico's Drug Wars Worsen, Former President Suggests Legalizing Drugs

Feb. 22, 2010

Rob Kuznia -- HispanicBusiness.com

Anyone who doesn't think the drug war in Mexico is a real war should reflect upon the body count, and how it compares to the war in Iraq.

Ever since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 and deployed 50,000 troops to fight the powerful cartels, 16,000 people have died violently, Time Magazine reports.

By contrast, in all of 2008 and 2009, there were about 14,000 civilian casualties in Iraq, according to IraqBodyCount.org.

What's more, the violence in Mexico appears to be escalating: authorities say January was the deadliest month yet. Early in the month, the country experienced 69 murders in a single day.

The situation is so bad that former Mexican President Vincente Fox is advocating the legalization of drugs in the United States.

"We need to end the war," he told an audience in Santa Barbara, according to the Pacific Coast Business Times. "It's time to debate legalizing drugs. Then maybe we can separate violence from what is a health problem."



Source: HispanicBusiness.com (c) 2010. All rights reserved


Comments

Total Comments: 7 | Pending Comments: 0

MichelleC
2/25/2010 1:10:47 PM PST
You're right Devilfish. In a country such as ours where we rely so much on the government to tell us what is right and wrong, suddenly legalizing drugs would be disastrous. Maybe legalizing drugs is not the answer, but the bottom line is that something has got to give; and the US turning their backs on Mexico will not solve anything. The violence is real and for the border towns of the US, the threat is right outside their door.


Devilfish
2/24/2010 11:50:28 AM PST
I appreciate MichelleC's comment in response to mine, however, once again the facts & logic need to be straightened out. First, our own DEA is extremel adept at dealing with drug manufacture & distribution in this country, but due to the corrupt & lawless nature that prevails in Mexico the drug cartels have never been put in check. Certainly, if the cartels operated in the same manner here as they do in Mexico, they would be annihilated. The way that the cartels function is much akin to the way the old American mafia functioned through intimidation, fear, money & murder. Legalizing drugs in this country would merely promote usage & further damage the fabric of our society despite any monetary gain from taxes like with cigarrettes or alcohol. Mexico needs to stop making false excuses.


MichelleC
2/24/2010 6:49:00 AM PST
I understand where Devilfish is coming from, but the war in Mexico goes beyond people's everyday use of illegal drugs and their crimes. This is about power and money. Drug lords can pretty much run Mexican communities and the violence is real. My husband has relatives who live in Mexico and they fear for their lives everyday. A wrong look or the wrong move can bring unwanted attention and can lead to death. It may seem extreme or unreal, but it's not an exaggeration. The cartels monitor the people of these Mexican communities and it is difficult for law enforcement to control. And don't think that it is just in Mexico. Border towns in the US are also at risk. Legalizing drugs may be an option. It's a sad thought, but take away the money and power and eventually the violence.


Devilfish
2/22/2010 7:47:30 PM PST
Fox is insane as any alleged appetite for drugs in this country hardly is to blame for the violence in Mexico. Drugs aren't responsible for killing people unless they use them and in the same fashion guns by themselves don't kill unless people use them for that purpose. The onus of responsibility for the killing in Mexico falls on Mexicans and not Americans which idiot politicians like Clinton have lead us to believe just as Fox is attempting to do. Mexico last fall legalized personal drug usage for many items including heroin and cocaine in small amounts. Now Fox expects Americans to legalize drugs so we can poison our society all the more just as Mexico has done. That guy needs to stop meddling in American affairs and tend to the problems that Mexico has failed to do.


Eddie1959
2/22/2010 3:01:58 PM PST
The war on drugs is simply NOT WORKING! The fuel that feeds the fire is this countries appetite for drugs! Prohibition did not stop the consumption of alcohol. It created wealth among organized crime and deaths among rival bootleggers. Legalization of cocaine will bring consequences and problems. Yet, Tobacco remains a leading cause of preventable death in the world today. And hundreds-of-thousands of people are killed every year in the United States alone because of liquor related injuries, accidents and crimes. The unfortunate reality is that there will always be cokeheads, potheads and alcoholics. Nonetheless, legalizing drugs such as cocaine would no doubt help stop the insurmountable death toll on both sides of the border.


Bill Harris
2/22/2010 1:40:25 PM PST
Molecules don't cause crime and violence. Only prohibition causes crime and violence. Don't reform prohibition, just repeal it. Only liberty, to garden and share nature's bounty, can cure society's plague. Prohibitionists want you to believe that God goofed when He created the psychoactive plants, and determined the bodily response to their intake. Open season on hippies, commies, and non-whites under the war on drugs must be closed forever. The way forward is to repeal the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and other drug laws. Void all convictions under the defunct laws. Let these shores once again know the lost blessings of liberty, and peace on the home front.


eldon
2/22/2010 11:04:59 AM PST
Remember when alcohol was banned in the US? Sad to say ex-president of Mexico Fox is correct. The only way to end the war in Mexico is to control the drugs by legalizing drugs period.


Story Tools
SHARE THIS