MEXICO: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox explains stance for legalizing drugs in Mexico

Record ID: 304134

  • Title: MEXICO: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox explains stance for legalizing drugs in Mexico
  • Date: 18th August 2010
  • Summary: CULIACAN, SINALOA, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS DESTROYING A MARIJUANA FIELD
  • Embargoed: 2nd September 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAABJAQQLGCTP77S8L9XYEMMTDF
  • Story Text: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox reiterated his position on Monday (August 16) that Mexico should consider legalizing drugs to reduce the violence and corruption plaguing the country.
    Fox spoke to Reuters from his presidential study centre in the central state of Guanajuato.
    The former president said the country could not expect the government to completely wipe out drugs, and that making them illegal was not likely to have much success based on history.
    "All prohibition seems to provoke the contrary effect. All prohibition - what it does is to bring more interest in going for the apple in the case of Adam and Eve - or to go for the cigarrette or the alcohol in Chicago. What you see in Holland and in other European countries that have let it go - they released the drug and consumption has not sigificantly increased," he said.
    Fox briefly floated an initiative for legalizing drugs toward the end of his term in 2006, but the proposal quickly fell flat after strong criticism from within Mexico and the United States.
    But he maintains his position, saying that the entire process would be heavily regulated.
    "Therefore we can, through the legalization, separate the problem of violence and so then comes the question, Well now who is goingto manage the drug market? Who is going to produce, distribute and sell? I say businesses, businessmen, farmers who are strongly controlled and ordered by the government and by the state . He who wants to be a farmer to cultivate marijuana will be required to have specific permits, specific quotas, required to pay taxes, required to be supervised by the authorities of health and others. Those who are going to distribute and sell drugs will have the same requirements to be registered, will have to have authorization to put up its kiosk to sell drugs, will have topay taxes of 100 percent on top of the value of the drug and that money will be used by the government for prevention, for education, to inform the young people of the damage that drug consumption can do," he said.
    He also defended his administration against accusations that he had helped bring about the drug problem.
    "In the moment when we were serving in Mexico and the Mexicans, we did not have a situation as dramatic as now - and then came the argument tht said: No, but you left the drug problem to begin or grow. False - that came much later," he said.
    As Fox continues to articulate his position, his successor, current President Felipe Calderon, has said he is willing to open a discussion on the legalization of drugs, but said he approaches such a move with caution.
    "On one side, there are those who allege that what legalization would imply is an enormous increase of consumption in various generations of Mexicans, in part because of the economic effect that would bring down the price, in part also for the availibility, in part also for the idea that it would be finally acceptable and socially good and used for medicinal purposes, which has culturally an important repercussion- it implies that a country made the decision to risk various generations of young people and adolescents but on the other side, it has effets of important economic value in the sense of reducing important flows of crime," he said recently.
    Meanwhile, Senator Alejandro Zapata from Calderon's conservative National Action Party, said he also favours a debate, but said he is against the idea of legalization.
    Zapata explained that he feels the recent drive in some parts of Mexico to legalize drugs is an effort to imitate similar measures under discussion in other countries, particularly in the United States. He said this cannot be a reason for pursuing such a policy.
    "Not because in the United States there is a process of legalization underway. We have to pursue this kind of question additionally - it interests us that there is a family unit and when there are questions of addictions in the family , the family is divided. We want there to be a better society driven by values. When these kinds of questions come up, we can see that society is also upset. I am not convinced that wil solve the problems we have with organized crime," he said.
    In 2009 Mexico's Senate approved a bill decriminalizing possession of small amounts of narcotics for personal use, in order to free resources to fight violent drug cartels.
    The bill, proposed by conservative Calderon, makes it legal to carry up to 5 grams (0.18 ounces) of marijuana, 500 milligrams (0.018 ounces) of cocaine and tiny quantities of other drugs such as heroin and methamphetamines.
    About 28,000 people have been killed since Calderon took office in late 2006 and sent thousands of federal police and troops to crack down on the drug cartels.
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