More on Mexico's drug policy reform

Five opinions on Mexico's recent move to decriminalize possession.

Too hot, too cold, just right...

They also make irreconcilable statements of fact.

Here are some of the highlights:

...if they asked me, will decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of drugs save a single life in Ciudad Juárez, where there have been about 3,200 murders in 21 months, my answer would be a rotund no.

But decriminalizing drug possession is in and of itself a change of, paradoxically, gigantic and modest proportions. Gigantic because it is a solid first step to pave the way for 1) distinguishing between drug use and drug abuse 2) paving the way for fully medicalizing abuse, that is, reinforcing the idea that we should treat drug addicts much as alcoholics and offer them help instead of prison time, and 3) focusing state resources on the production, trafficking and distribution networks. But modest because it still commits governments to continue their war on drugs, just not on the user.

Grrrr:

Drug users are not innocent. They support the vicious drug cartels. Without their demand for drugs, the supply side has no purpose. Since terrorists depend on the drug market to fund their activities, users are potentially aiding terrorism. Because drug traffickers are frequently linked with weapons and human trafficking, users are also supporting these activities.