Drug war definitively lost in some quarters

Mexico's drug war is becoming more and more brutal. President Felipe Calderón has deployed 45,000 soldiers and federal police in the government's fight against the drug mafia, and 5,000 of them patrol the streets of Ciudad Juarez alone.

Despite the government's stepped-up efforts, the death toll continues to rise. Before Calderón came into office in December 2006, an average of two people a day died a violent death in the border city. By 2008, the daily death toll had risen to five, and last year the murder rate in Ciudad Juarez was up to seven people a day. Since 2007, more than 15,000 people have died in Mexico's drug wars.

Meanwhile, the drug business is booming. In 2009, Mexico became the world's second-largest marijuana producer, with poor, small farmers switching from corn and beans to cannabis. Frustrated government officials are convinced that they have already lost the drug war.

What could we possibly do? Decriminalize?

This form of liberalization is already being pursued across the Atlantic in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Portugal, where drug use has not increased as a result of the lax laws. In the large Latin American countries, on the other hand, the number of addicts is growing.

In other words, "that's crazy talk!"