Vicente Fox urges legalization of all drugs in Mexico - and worldwide

Speaking today in the United States, former Mexican president Vicente Fox urged the legalization of all drugs in his country. “It’s necessary in order to take a step forward in the war against drug trafficking,” said Fox.

During a conference at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., Fox said that Mexico should follow the example of countries like Portugal and Holland, which “have legalized drugs without negative health consequences for their populations. My proposal is to legalize all drugs and their production,” added Fox, who served as Mexico’s president from 2000-2006.

“We have to have new ideas, and we could begin by reviewing the question of legalization. No other government, except that of Felipe Calderón, has said ‘no more drugs for our children,’” claimed Fox. It’s unclear what other governments the former president was referring to. “It’s crucial that we change the model and the strategy for dealing with drugs.”

Fox urged governments worldwide to begin discussing the legalization of drugs. “We have to move ourselves quickly away from this trap of narcotics trafficking. By legalizing drugs and by educating (about them), we can go forward. In Mexico there are thousands of people who die from drug use each year, but there are also thousands who die from alcohol and tobacco use,” added the former president.

Fox made reference to a recently published U.S. survey which purportedly indicates that half of the American population supports legalization (or decriminalization) of marijuana possession.

Fox also urged president Calderón to withdraw Mexican armed forces from the war against the cartels, and to sit down "at the table to negotiate a truce, a cease fire" with narcotics traffickers.

Drug "decriminalization" or legalization, it's all the same at the end of the day