Oct 12, 2010
drug war, Latin America, Mario Vargas Llosa, Mexico, Nobel prize, presidents, Prohibition
This weekend, Mario Vargas Llosa, winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, joined a growing number of Latin American leaders, academics, and artists in calling for an end to failed prohibition policies:
“[Legalization] is the only solution," said the author. "Drug trafficking can not be defeated by military means.”
It seems strange that such well-respected members of Latin American society are more and more willing to come out in favor of reform, while here in the States, most public officials will not come within a mile of advocating sensible policies. The research supporting these changes is available, and new studies suggesting the same are coming out all the time.
Could it be that this is because our policies cause much more bloodshed abroad than at home, despite America being the largest marijuana market on Earth?