Latin drug warrior presidents are now passionate for legalization

Comments by Jacob Sullum in Reason, using the following quote from a WSJ article by Jose de Cordoba as a springboard:

"If the drug effort were failing there would be no violence," a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.

And then, citing the report of a Commission convened by three former Latin American presidents (Brazil's Cardoso. Columbia's Gaviria, and Mexico's Zedillo)-- all of whom were drug warriors during their time in office-- here are some of their conclusions:

Prohibitionist policies based on the eradication of production and on the disruption of drug flows as well as on the criminalization of consumption have not yielded the expected results. We are farther than ever from the announced goal of eradicating drugs.

They cite:

A rise in organized crime caused both by the international narcotics trade and by the growing control exercised by criminal groups over domestic markets and territories;

A growth in unacceptable levels of drug-related violence affecting the whole of society and, in particular, the poor and the young;

The criminalization of politics and the politicization of crime, as well as the proliferation of the linkages between them, as reflected in the infiltration of democratic institutions by organized crime;

The corruption of public servants, the judicial system, governments, the political system and, especially the police forces in charge of enforcing law and order.

Yep, that's the way we'd draw it up in theory-- and what we've seen historically in practice.

Sad costs of some people trying to protect some other people from themselves-- while sticking innocent parties with unjust costs.