Ex-President Felipe Calderon Warns of Legal Marijuana and Threat from Crime Groups SAPA
go to original November 25, 2013

Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa during a speech this month in Coronado, where he was honored by the Institute of the Americas with its Leadership in the Americas Award. (Sean M. Haffey/U-T San Diego)

ASUNCION, Paraguay - Mexico's former president warned countries considering legalization of marijuana that the real threat comes from criminal groups taking over national institutions, in an interview published Monday.

Felipe Calderon, whose 2006-2012 presidency saw an explosion of drug-related murders, said he was not opposed to legalization of drugs but cautioned that the problems will not go away if criminal groups are involved with the police, as happened in Mexico.

"For me, the issue isn't whether or not you legalize drugs. Sooner or later that will have to be reviewed," he said.

"But the problem in Mexico is not just one of drugs. The criminal organizations have acquired such a degree of sophistication that they are taking over the institutions," he said.

Calderon met with Paraguay's newly elected president Horacio Cartes. His visit comes as Latin American countries are seriously debating whether to legalize marijuana in a bid to undercut the violent criminals that now control the industry.

Read the rest at Independent Online

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