May 14, 2009 4:10PM # Former President Fox: “Legalize Drugs” By [Juan Carlos Hidalgo](https://www.cato.org/people/juan-carlos-hidalgo) --- SHARE Mexico’s former President, Vicente Fox, joins the [growing chorus](https://www.cato.org/2009/02/11/latin-americans-are-fed-up-with-the-war-on-drugs/) of Latin American ex-presidents [calling for an end on the war on drugs](http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/05/13/mexico.fox.marijuana/index.html?eref=rss_world). He’s proposing an open debate on drug legalization. It’s a shame, though, that these leaders wait until they are out of office to voice their opposition to Washington’s prohibitionist drug strategy. While it’s true, as Fox points out, that any step towards legalization in the region must be supported by the United States, Latin American presidents skeptical of the status quo could use the pulpits at the United Nations, Organization of American States, or the Summits of the Americas to denounce the war on drugs and call for different approaches. Still, Fox’s opinion on the matter is welcome. ##### Related Tags [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).