It is interesting how these political leaders never seem to speak of the
growth of DOMESTIC drug consumption in their countries. Much of the
violence that erupted in Mexico and esp. in Juarez beginning in 2008, can
be attributed to domestic retail drug sales–neighborhood tienditas selling
cocaine, heroin and meth to street users in the city. Juarez is estimated
to have 100,000-200,000 addicts and virtually every street corner and
barrio and colonia and prison are markets to be controlled by local gangs.
That kind of competition produces a lot of violence. molly
Yet some regional leaders — Mexican President Felipe Calderon prominent
among them — voice deepening frustration at high U.S. drug demand, flows of
drug profits and weapons southward, and the seeming contradiction between
American pressure for harsh suppression measures in Latin America while, in
the United States, a growing number of states permit medical marijuana

McClatchy

By Tim Johnson

In Mexico, Biden shoots down talk of drug legalization