Reversal of Mexico drug policy blamed on U.S.
Re “Fox Decides Not to Sign Drug Legalization Bill,” May 4
In this article about a bill passed by Mexico’s Congress calling for decriminalization of possession of specified amounts of various drugs, The Times refers to “international criticism” of the proposed law. But who other than the United States has voiced such criticism?
The U.S. is pretty much alone in refusing to consider alternatives to its zero-tolerance, absolute prohibitionist approach to drugs -- a policy that has led to a higher rate of incarceration than any nation in the world while the availability of drugs has never been greater and the prices never lower.
We should learn from our neighbors, not demand their slavish obeisance in pursuit of a policy that -- most particularly in the United States -- has proved to be such a tragic failure.
ROBERT G. NEWMAN MD
New York
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Newman is the director of the International Center for Advancement of Addiction Treatment at the Baron Edmond de Rothschild Chemical Dependency Institute of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.
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