HomeNewsBriefLatAm Leaders Call for Analysis of US Marijuana Legalization Initiatives
BRIEF

LatAm Leaders Call for Analysis of US Marijuana Legalization Initiatives

BELIZE / 13 NOV 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

In a sign of increasing discontent with the dominant anti-drug strategy in the hemisphere, the heads of state of three Central American countries and Mexico have issued a joint statement calling for an analysis of the effects of recent votes to legalize marijuana in two US states.

On November 12, the leaders of Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico and Belize released a statement declaring: “It has become necessary to analyze in depth the implications for public policy and health in our nations emerging from the state and local moves to allow the legal production, consumption and distribution of marijuana in some countries of our continent,” reported the Associated Press.

The leaders have called on the Organization of American States (OAS) to review the potential effects of the votes in Colorado and Washington, with Mexican President Felipe Calderon calling the move a “paradigm shift,” in global drug policy. They also requested the United Nations General Assembly to hold a special session on drug prohibition within the next three years.

Though the sale and distribution of marijuana for personal use will be legal in the two states, it remains illegal under US federal law.

InSight Crime Analysis

This joint declaration follows comments made by the head of Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto’s transition team last week that Mexico will have to review its drug policy in light of the move to legalize, stating that the incoming government would find it difficult preventing marijuana trafficking if its consumption is permitted north of the border.

According to a report by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, Mexico provides about 40 percent of US’s annual marijuana consumption.

Calderon and Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla have both been critical of the existing punitive framework for drug policy in the past, with each saying a debate on new strategies, including legalization, is required. Honduran President Porfirio Lobo, on the other hand, has previously come out against legalization (See InSight Crime’s map on drug policy positions throughout the region).

The fact that the Colorado and Washington votes are causing drug policy hardliners -- Peña Nieto included -- to start calling for a review suggests the backlash against the US could grow over its perceived hypocrisy, as the country remains strictly opposed to drug decriminalization abroad.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

DISPLACEMENT / 31 MAY 2021

The Catholic Church has played a central role in negotiating peace between Mexican drug cartels. But religious leaders in Michoacán…

HUMAN RIGHTS / 14 JUL 2021

The new Netflix series, “Somos.,” (We Are), offers a respectful but powerful look at the Allende massacre, one of the…

GUATEMALA / 20 DEC 2022

Increased security on land borders is forcing more migrants to enter Mexico from Guatemala by sea, running the risk of…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…