USA Today
August 18, 2013
Mexico City - With the capture of two top drug lords in little more than a month, the new government of President Enrique Pena Nieto is following an old strategy it openly criticized for causing more violence and crime.
Mario Armando Ramirez Trevino, a top leader of Mexico's Gulf Cartel, was detained Saturday in a military operation near the Texas border, just weeks after the arrest of the leader of the brutal Zetas cartel near another border city, Nuevo Laredo.
Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong took his post in December saying the strategy of former President Felipe Calderon to take out cartel leaders only made drug gangs more dangerous and violent. The new administration would focus less on leaders and more on reducing violence, he said. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label drug policy debate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drug policy debate. Show all posts
Jul 9, 2013
Former Mexican President Fox Urges Marijuana Legalization
NY Times
By Reauters
July 8, 2013
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox took his crusade to legalize marijuana to San Francisco on Monday, joining pot advocates to urge the United States and his own country to decriminalize the sale and recreational use of cannabis.
Fox met for three hours with the advocates, including Steve DeAngelo, the Oakland-based executive director of California's largest marijuana dispensary, and former Microsoft executive Jamen Shively, who hopes to create a Seattle-based pot brand now that Washington state has legalized recreational use. Read more.
By Reauters
July 8, 2013
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox took his crusade to legalize marijuana to San Francisco on Monday, joining pot advocates to urge the United States and his own country to decriminalize the sale and recreational use of cannabis.
Fox met for three hours with the advocates, including Steve DeAngelo, the Oakland-based executive director of California's largest marijuana dispensary, and former Microsoft executive Jamen Shively, who hopes to create a Seattle-based pot brand now that Washington state has legalized recreational use. Read more.
Nov 13, 2012
Colorado, Washington Marijuana Legalization: Latin American Leaders Ask For A Review Of Drug Policies
Huffington Post By E. Eduardo Castillo and Michael Weissentein
MEXICO CITY — A group of Latin American leaders declared Monday that votes by two U.S. states to legalize marijuana have important implications for efforts to quash drug smuggling, offering the first government reaction from a region increasingly frustrated with the U.S.-backed war on drugs.
The declaration by the leaders of Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Costa Rica did not explicitly say they were considering weakening their governments' efforts against marijuana smuggling, but it strongly implied the votes last week in Colorado and Washington would make enforcement of marijuana bans more difficult. Read more.
MEXICO CITY — A group of Latin American leaders declared Monday that votes by two U.S. states to legalize marijuana have important implications for efforts to quash drug smuggling, offering the first government reaction from a region increasingly frustrated with the U.S.-backed war on drugs.
The declaration by the leaders of Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Costa Rica did not explicitly say they were considering weakening their governments' efforts against marijuana smuggling, but it strongly implied the votes last week in Colorado and Washington would make enforcement of marijuana bans more difficult. Read more.
Oct 10, 2012
War on drugs 'a total failure,' former Mexican President Vicente Fox says in Grand Rapids
MLive, By Zane McMillin RAPIDS, MI — The so-called global war on drugs is a “total failure” and the United States should consider legalizing and regulating marijuana to help further crack down on violent drug cartels, former Mexican President Vicente Fox charged Monday.
In an interview with MLive.com, Fox, who is in Grand Rapids as keynote speaker for the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan’s 63rd Anniversary Dinner, perpetuated his widely reported belief that an amended drug policy would benefit both the United States and Mexico.
“It’s been a total failure,” Fox said of the war on drugs. “We must have new answers to this old problem. And I think legalization must be considered now, urgently.” Read more.
In an interview with MLive.com, Fox, who is in Grand Rapids as keynote speaker for the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan’s 63rd Anniversary Dinner, perpetuated his widely reported belief that an amended drug policy would benefit both the United States and Mexico.
“It’s been a total failure,” Fox said of the war on drugs. “We must have new answers to this old problem. And I think legalization must be considered now, urgently.” Read more.
Jul 4, 2012
Numbers Tell of Failure in Drug War
NY Times: When policy makers in Washington worry about Mexico these days, they think in terms of a handful of numbers: Mexico’s 19,500 hectares devoted to poppy cultivation for heroin; its 17,500 hectares growing cannabis; the 95 percent of American cocaine imports brought by Mexican cartels through Mexico and Central America.
They are thinking about the wrong numbers. If there is one number that embodies the seemingly intractable challenge imposed by the illegal drug trade on the relationship between the United States and Mexico, it is $177.26. That is the retail price, according to Drug Enforcement Administration data, of one gram of pure cocaine from your typical local pusher. That is 74 percent cheaper than it was 30 years ago.
This number contains pretty much all you need to evaluate the Mexican and American governments’ “war” to eradicate illegal drugs from the streets of the United States. They would do well to heed its message. What it says is that the struggle on which they have spent billions of dollars and lost tens of thousands of lives over the last four decades has failed. Read more.
They are thinking about the wrong numbers. If there is one number that embodies the seemingly intractable challenge imposed by the illegal drug trade on the relationship between the United States and Mexico, it is $177.26. That is the retail price, according to Drug Enforcement Administration data, of one gram of pure cocaine from your typical local pusher. That is 74 percent cheaper than it was 30 years ago.
This number contains pretty much all you need to evaluate the Mexican and American governments’ “war” to eradicate illegal drugs from the streets of the United States. They would do well to heed its message. What it says is that the struggle on which they have spent billions of dollars and lost tens of thousands of lives over the last four decades has failed. Read more.
Jun 27, 2012
Mexico seeks more international cooperation in war on drugs
Fox News Latino: Mexico wants to expand international cooperation in the war on drugs to create "new strategies and lines of action," Mexican Deputy Attorney General for Judicial and International Affairs Alejandro Ramos told Efe.
"Mexico's biggest concern is promoting international cooperation at a higher level of effectiveness," Ramos said Monday at the international anti-drug meeting in Lima.
Drug trafficking is a problem that affects all countries and Mexico is promoting a global approach because distinctions should not be made among consumers, producers and transit areas, Ramos said.
"What Mexico is pushing for in the hemisphere is to move from having meetings of a political nature to taking action to create a center to coordinate sensitive intelligence about criminal organizations that can be shared in a secure manner," the deputy AG said. Read more.
"Mexico's biggest concern is promoting international cooperation at a higher level of effectiveness," Ramos said Monday at the international anti-drug meeting in Lima.
Drug trafficking is a problem that affects all countries and Mexico is promoting a global approach because distinctions should not be made among consumers, producers and transit areas, Ramos said.
"What Mexico is pushing for in the hemisphere is to move from having meetings of a political nature to taking action to create a center to coordinate sensitive intelligence about criminal organizations that can be shared in a secure manner," the deputy AG said. Read more.
May 31, 2012
Despite Deaths in Honduran Raid, U.S. to Press Ahead With New Antidrug Policy
The New York Times: WASHINGTON — After several villagers were killed on a Honduran river this month during a raid on drug smugglers by Honduran and American agents, a local backlash raised concerns that the United States’ expanding counternarcotics efforts in Central America might be going too far. But United States officials in charge of that policy see it differently.
Throughout 2011, counternarcotics officials watched their radar screens almost helplessly as more than 100 small planes flew from South America to isolated landing strips in Honduras. But this month — after establishing a new strategy emphasizing more cooperation across various United States departments and agencies — two smugglers’ flights were intercepted within a single week, a development that explains why American officials say they are determined to press forward with the approach.
Throughout 2011, counternarcotics officials watched their radar screens almost helplessly as more than 100 small planes flew from South America to isolated landing strips in Honduras. But this month — after establishing a new strategy emphasizing more cooperation across various United States departments and agencies — two smugglers’ flights were intercepted within a single week, a development that explains why American officials say they are determined to press forward with the approach.
“In the first four months of this year, I’d say we actually have gotten it together across the military, law enforcement and developmental communities,” said William R. Brownfield, the assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs. “My guess is narcotics traffickers are hitting the pause button. For the first time in a decade, air shipments are being intercepted immediately upon landing."
With Washington’s attention swinging from Iraq and Afghanistan — and with budget dollars similarly flowing in new directions — the United States is expanding and unifying its antidrug efforts in Central America, where violence has skyrocketed as enforcement efforts in the Caribbean, Colombia and Mexico have pushed cocaine traffic to smaller countries with weaker security forces. Read more.
With Washington’s attention swinging from Iraq and Afghanistan — and with budget dollars similarly flowing in new directions — the United States is expanding and unifying its antidrug efforts in Central America, where violence has skyrocketed as enforcement efforts in the Caribbean, Colombia and Mexico have pushed cocaine traffic to smaller countries with weaker security forces. Read more.
May 11, 2012
The Future of Mexico’s Drug Strategy
Honduras Weekly: Distracted by the admittedly discussion-worthy Cuba issue at the Sixth Summit of the Americas last month in Cartagena, Colombia, the nations of the Western Hemisphere paid little mind to the prospect of reforming hemispheric drug policy. Latin American nations displayed unalloyed unity, indicating a deeply felt disdain for Washington’s normal agenda in the region. Several Latin American countries have demonstrated a desire to approach drug policy in a sharply different manner from the heavy-handed direction traditionally favored by US policymakers.
This prevailing tilt toward decriminalization became apparent as several Latin American countries proposed alternatives to the current strategy being used in the drug war. Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico have all proposed alternatives, each having recognized that militarized efforts against drug trafficking have proven ineffective. read more
This prevailing tilt toward decriminalization became apparent as several Latin American countries proposed alternatives to the current strategy being used in the drug war. Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico have all proposed alternatives, each having recognized that militarized efforts against drug trafficking have proven ineffective. read more
May 10, 2012
'War On Drugs Bill Of Rights' To Be Introduced By Concerned Families, Law Enforcement, Students
Kush Magazine: It's no secret, it's just never truly publicized. Victims of the 'drug war' have families, wives, children, mothers too. And perhaps no one falls more victim to the senseless attacks on nonviolent offenders as well as legal medical marijuana industry professionals than these innocent citizens and civilians.
Tomorrow, they plan to make their voices heard.
To kick of a national week of action to "stop the violence, mass incarceration and overdose deaths resulting from our current punitive and discriminatory drug policies," A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing) is partnering with organizations including Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), NORML Women's Alliance, Families to Amend California's Three Strikes, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and will holding a joint press conference with Moms United to End the War on Drugs on the steps of San Diego Hall of Justice tomorrow, May 10, at 10:00am (PST) to announce the "Moms United to End the War on Drugs Bill of Rights" to the public. read more
Tomorrow, they plan to make their voices heard.
To kick of a national week of action to "stop the violence, mass incarceration and overdose deaths resulting from our current punitive and discriminatory drug policies," A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing) is partnering with organizations including Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), NORML Women's Alliance, Families to Amend California's Three Strikes, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and will holding a joint press conference with Moms United to End the War on Drugs on the steps of San Diego Hall of Justice tomorrow, May 10, at 10:00am (PST) to announce the "Moms United to End the War on Drugs Bill of Rights" to the public. read more
May 3, 2012
Obama’s Drug Czar Stumps for ‘Third Way’ Policy
ABC News: "To hear President Obama’s drug czar tell it, the leading voices on drug policy are kind of crazy.
“Over the past few years, this public debate on drug policy lurches between two extreme views,” White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske said during a speech today at the Center for American Progress.
“On one side we have a very vocal, organized, well-funded advocates who insist that drug legalization is a ‘silver bullet’ for addressing our nation’s drug problem. Then we have the other side. On the other side of the debate are those who insist that a law-enforcement-only, ‘War on Drugs’ approach … is the way to create a drug free society,” Kerlikowske said." read more
“Over the past few years, this public debate on drug policy lurches between two extreme views,” White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske said during a speech today at the Center for American Progress.
“On one side we have a very vocal, organized, well-funded advocates who insist that drug legalization is a ‘silver bullet’ for addressing our nation’s drug problem. Then we have the other side. On the other side of the debate are those who insist that a law-enforcement-only, ‘War on Drugs’ approach … is the way to create a drug free society,” Kerlikowske said." read more
Administration offers new alternative to 'drug war' - San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Express-News: "The Obama administration's top drug policy official said Tuesday that although the government continues anti-drug efforts on the Southwest border, “we cannot arrest our way out of the drug problem.”
National Drug Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske — the drug czar — said it's time to “treat drug addiction as a disease.”
The administration's “third way” strategy seeks a middle ground between drug legalization and an enforcement-heavy “war on drugs,” Kerlikowske said in a speech at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank founded by John Podesta, former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. read more
National Drug Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske — the drug czar — said it's time to “treat drug addiction as a disease.”
The administration's “third way” strategy seeks a middle ground between drug legalization and an enforcement-heavy “war on drugs,” Kerlikowske said in a speech at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank founded by John Podesta, former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. read more
Mexico ex-president calls drug war 'useless'
latimes.com: "Former Mexican President Vicente Fox on Wednesday labeled the global war on drugs “useless” and an "absolute failure," saying it's time to consider legalization as an antidote to the violence ravaging his country.
Fox, who governed Mexico from 2000 to 2006, said his successor’s 5-1/2-year-old offensive against drug trafficking groups had failed to reduce the availability or consumption of illegal drugs and led only to more bloodshed and mayhem. More than 50,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon launched the crackdown in late 2006.
Fox said his country, caught between drug producers in South America and a sea of users in the United States, was paying an unfair price for U.S. laws criminalizing drug use.
“The country that imposed the prohibition, the country that has punishments and considers drugs a crime is the country that uses the most drugs in the world,” Fox said during an hour-long meeting with foreign correspondents." read more
Fox, who governed Mexico from 2000 to 2006, said his successor’s 5-1/2-year-old offensive against drug trafficking groups had failed to reduce the availability or consumption of illegal drugs and led only to more bloodshed and mayhem. More than 50,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon launched the crackdown in late 2006.
Fox said his country, caught between drug producers in South America and a sea of users in the United States, was paying an unfair price for U.S. laws criminalizing drug use.
“The country that imposed the prohibition, the country that has punishments and considers drugs a crime is the country that uses the most drugs in the world,” Fox said during an hour-long meeting with foreign correspondents." read more
Apr 26, 2012
King: Fundamental principles for drug policy reform
Houston Chronicle: "In everything I have read about U.S. drug policy over the last several months, with the exception of a few people who make a living from the War on Drugs, virtually no one thinks what we are currently doing is working. Polling consistently shows that about 70 percent of Americans agree. It seems that it is only a matter of time before we try a different approach.
A detailed plan is far beyond the scope of this column or your columnist's expertise. However, if we are to have a more effective drug policy, there would appear to be a few fundamental principles upon which a new policy should be based." read more
A detailed plan is far beyond the scope of this column or your columnist's expertise. However, if we are to have a more effective drug policy, there would appear to be a few fundamental principles upon which a new policy should be based." read more
Time to transform global drug strategy
The Globe and Mail: "The global war on drugs is based on false assumptions and antiquated laws that do not reflect contemporary research about drug use, production and markets. It is time to cast aside dogma, and transform global drug strategy with policies based on evidence, not ideology.
At the recent Summit of the Americas, Latin America's leaders pressed Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama to study alternatives to the failed war on drugs; even Mr. Harper, architect of mandatory minimums for minor drug offences at home, acknowledged the current approach isn't working. The 31 hemispheric leaders agreed to appoint a panel to study reform of global drug policies." read more
At the recent Summit of the Americas, Latin America's leaders pressed Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama to study alternatives to the failed war on drugs; even Mr. Harper, architect of mandatory minimums for minor drug offences at home, acknowledged the current approach isn't working. The 31 hemispheric leaders agreed to appoint a panel to study reform of global drug policies." read more
Obama Defends War on Medical Marijuana With Lame Excuses
StoptheDrugWar.org: "Finally, finally, finally, someone in the press has managed to corner the President on the question of why the war on medical marijuana is getting worse under his watch. Here you go folks, the answer we've been waiting for…
Let me ask you about the War on Drugs. You vowed in 2008, when you were running for election, that you would not "use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana." Yet we just ran a story that shows your administration is launching more raids on medical pot than the Bush administration did. What's up with that?" read more
Let me ask you about the War on Drugs. You vowed in 2008, when you were running for election, that you would not "use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana." Yet we just ran a story that shows your administration is launching more raids on medical pot than the Bush administration did. What's up with that?" read more
Drug war will change course in 2013
MiamiHerald.com: "When the recent Summit of the Americas in Colombia decided to commission a study on whether to decriminalize drugs, many thought that would be the end of it, and the whole thing would be quickly forgotten. Well, maybe not.
For starters, it was the first time that such a large group of heads of state ventured into that once taboo area. And there are several other non-related factors that may contribute to put decriminalization in the front burner later this year, or in early 2013." read more
For starters, it was the first time that such a large group of heads of state ventured into that once taboo area. And there are several other non-related factors that may contribute to put decriminalization in the front burner later this year, or in early 2013." read more
Apr 24, 2012
Legalize Drugs, Says Former British Spy Chief
Voice of America: In a new report, the International Institute for Strategic Studies argues the West is losing the war on drugs. Nigel Inkster, a former deputy chief of Britain’s intelligence agency MI6, is the author.
“Mexico is now experiencing two wars, one between the government and drugs traffickers, and the other between drugs trafficking groups," said Inkster. "Afghanistan is another example where what we’ve seen is the narcotics trade not causing conflict, because conflict was there long before, but acting as a perpetuator of conflict. read more
“Mexico is now experiencing two wars, one between the government and drugs traffickers, and the other between drugs trafficking groups," said Inkster. "Afghanistan is another example where what we’ve seen is the narcotics trade not causing conflict, because conflict was there long before, but acting as a perpetuator of conflict. read more
Mexico presidential front-runner opposes legalizing drugs
Fox News: Mexico's presidential front-runner opposes legalizing drugs, saying in an interview Monday that the idea is too "simplistic" to fight narcotics trafficking in the violence-plagued country.
Enrique Pena Nieto said allowing the use of so-called soft drugs would only open the door to abusing harder substances.
"So far no one has convinced me that this is the solution," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It seems to be the answer for those who don't see another way to reduce violence. But I favor a debate and evaluating the arguments people are making about the subject in different parts of the world. read more
Enrique Pena Nieto said allowing the use of so-called soft drugs would only open the door to abusing harder substances.
"So far no one has convinced me that this is the solution," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It seems to be the answer for those who don't see another way to reduce violence. But I favor a debate and evaluating the arguments people are making about the subject in different parts of the world. read more
Apr 23, 2012
4 Industries Getting Rich Off the Drug War
Reason Magazine: "In a 2011 interview, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that legalization is “not likely to work” because “there is just too much money in it.” Clinton was talking about cartels, but the same holds true for the legal industries that owe their profit margins, market shares, and—in some cases—very existence to the war on drugs. Here are four industries you might not realize profit off the drug war." read more
Apr 18, 2012
"New" White House Drug Control Strategy: New Rhetoric, Same Failed Policies
"Huffington Post: "The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (more commonly known as the drug czar's office) released its 2012 National Drug Control Strategy today.
The strategy is nearly identical to previous national drug strategies. While the rhetoric is new -- reflecting the fact that three-quarters of Americans consider the drug war a failure -- the substance of the actual policies is the same. In reality, the administration is prioritizing low-level drug arrests, trampling on state medical marijuana laws, and expanding supply-side interdiction approaches -- while doing nothing to actually reduce the harms of drug addiction and misuse, such as the escalating overdose epidemic." read more
The strategy is nearly identical to previous national drug strategies. While the rhetoric is new -- reflecting the fact that three-quarters of Americans consider the drug war a failure -- the substance of the actual policies is the same. In reality, the administration is prioritizing low-level drug arrests, trampling on state medical marijuana laws, and expanding supply-side interdiction approaches -- while doing nothing to actually reduce the harms of drug addiction and misuse, such as the escalating overdose epidemic." read more
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