|
|
| U.S., Mexican Governors To Study Drug Trafficking |
|
Posted by FoM on June 08, 2001 at 16:10:08 PT By Julie Watson, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press 
U.S. and Mexican border governors agreed Friday to study drug trafficking as a health issue and not just a crime, a step hailed by the New Mexico governor who favors legalizing marijuana and ending the war on drugs. On the last day of the 19th annual Border Governors Conference in the Gulf of Mexico port of Tampico, officials announced they would form a commission of scholars from the 10 U.S. and Mexican states along the border to study the idea of addressing drug smuggling from a public health perspective. Mexican governors proposed the idea, which was praised by New Mexico Gov. Gary E. Johnson. The conference includes California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in the United States and Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Tamaulipas in Mexico. California Gov. Gray Davis dropped out at the last moment to deal with his state's energy crisis. Johnson, a two-term Republican, has become one of the United States' leading proponents of the legalization of drugs including marijuana, cocaine and heroin. A former drug user himself, he believes drug use is a health problem, not a crime, and is pushing for state legislation to that effect. He believes ending the prohibition on drugs would reduce violence, corruption and many other problems in the border region. "I couldn't be more excited about what transpired here," Johnson said Friday of the joint commission. "I happen to believe that this is the reason why we have a militarized border and this whole concept or belief that everyone who comes across the border is a drug trafficker -- that's the perception in the United States." But while Mexican governors agreed to study the issue, Johnson acknowledged that they are far from agreeing to push for drugs to be legalized in their states. Nuevo Leon Gov. Fernando Canales and Baja California Gov. Alejandro Gonzalez said the world is not ready to legalize drugs. "I think the consensus was to give more attention to the health problems caused by drug trafficking," Gonzalez said. "But to be able to consider legalizing some of these drugs, such as marijuana, one country or one region can't do it when it is a problem of many countries." Chihuahua Gov. said he would support legalization of certain drugs to dilute the power of criminal groups that benefit from the black market. "This should be studied, analyzed and looked at to see what the people want and what are the effects from a different perspective that considers not only their prohibition but also in given time their approval for medicinal purposes or for rehabilitation or for other reasons," Martinez said. "We need to study all aspects of drug use, especially marijuana." In other matters, governors from both countries sought to spur growth of the huge cross-border economy and to solve such problems as immigration, water rights, energy needs and pollution. The May 23 deaths of 14 immigrants abandoned in the Arizona desert left governments on both sides grappling with how to make such illegal border crossings safer without promoting them, but no concrete solutions were reached in this area. Complete Title: U.S., Mexican Governors To Study Drug Trafficking as Health Issue Tampco, Mexico Source: Associated Press Related Article: Mexican President Suggests Eventual Legalization CannabisNews Articles - Governor Gary Johnson Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
 |
|
Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 10, 2001 at 10:38:55 PT:
|
| US Ambassador Explodes vs. Drug Legalization in Mexico June 10, 2001 Narco News to Debate Davidow U.S. Ambassador Explodes vs. Drug Legalization in Mexico A Cyber-Debate: http://www.narconews.com/thegreatdebate.html Narco News Translates Text of June 1 Speech by Jeffrey Davidow Publisher's Note: The Narco News Bulletin has obtained the text of a speech given on June 1 in Mexico by the United States Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, which reveals Washington's worry over the fast-growing drug legalization movement in Mexico. It is a speech filled with errors in fact, falsehoods, long-discredited claims and, above all, one that - by the very fact that Davidow felt he had to overtly lobby Mexicans against drug legalization - shows the great foothold that this movement has now taken in this grand country of 100 million citizens. As The Narco News Bulletin has extensively reported over the past year, the nation's indigenous rights movement, journalists, politicians, human rights workers, law enforcers, diplomats - from the national public safety czar, to the nation's top police officer, to the secretary of state, to the president of Mexico - have spoken openly and favorably about the absolute necessity of ending drug prohibition. Those reports are archived at http://www.narconews.com/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Post Comment |  |
 |  |