Drug use ought to be legalized as a way to combat violence said Honduran President Manuel Zelaya yesterday during a regional conference on drug trafficking. "The trade of arms, drugs and people ... are scourges on the international economy, and we are unable to provide effective responses” said Zelaya at the forum in Tegucigalpa. His proposal included establishing a regionwide counternarcotics plan that would supplant bilateral U.S.-led efforts in countries like Mexico and Colombia.Zelaya’s remarks were harshly criticized by U.N. Office of Drug Control rep José Martinez who was present at the meeting:
Mister President, there are those that claim that the problem of crime would disappear with the legalization of drugs. In other words, to solve such a difficult problem we must stick our heads under the sand like ostriches and accept the drug trade which is annihilating our youth. ¬– [ed. Personal translation]Image- BBC Mundo
Sources (English)- AFP, IHT
Sources (Spanish)- El Mercurio, El Heraldo
Zelaya: "Rather than continue to kill and capture traffickers, we could invest in resources for education and training," the Honduran leader said.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a nickel every time # a politican with a poor record of raising education spending has decried something they don't like by saying the money spent on it would be better spent on education... well.... I might be able to raise the education budgets myself.
That aside, I think it's too bad that someone as meagerly informed on the issue of drug legalization as Zelaya would make headlines with an otherwise laughable "legalize it" statement, when there are in fact lots of--objectively--really good reasons to consider the reform he advocates.
Mel's actions over the past two years have been shockingly and consistently illogical.
ReplyDeleteI can only assume his aim has been publicity, as his policies and statements have been some of the only ones by a Honduran leader to garner some headlines.
Aside from minor publicity, his controversial tactics share the following qualities: they never come to fruition, they damage US-Honduran relations and drive wedges into an already painfully polarized political environment.
In a country with a long history of political charlatans he draws distinction. Truly an embarrassment to Honduras.
Right they should invest in other good things instead of this.
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Since the types of biophysical forces involved in the interaction of drugs with lipid membranes are no different from those involved in their interaction with proteins, arguments based on lipophilicity also apply to drug uptake by membrane transporters or carriers.Weedies
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