Gaviria favours legalisationof drugs in Colombia

[Lunar Loops]

Another leader who would be afraid to follow his convictions for fear of being bush-whacked...this from http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/ :

Gaviria favours legalisationof drugs in Colombia
Web posted at: 5/27/2006 5:7:33
Source ::: AFP

BOGOTA • Colombian presidential hopeful Carlos Gaviria says he would like to legalise drugs but it would not be possible, as it would turn the South American country into an international pariah.
“I’m in favour of legalising drugs, but I’m also aware that a government cannot do this,” said Gaviria, 69.
Speaking to a small group of journalists, Gaviria said that by legalising the production and consumption of drugs, the state would be able to better control its trade.
“But Colombia would become a pariah country,” said Gaviria, who as a judge in the 1990s had helped pass legislation legalising possession of drugs for personal use.
Gaviria’s voter support has surged in recent weeks, but with 21 per cent in opinion polls, the leftist candidate still trails far behind the front-runner, President Alvaro Uribe.
His views on drugs contrast sharply with those of Uribe, who has waged a major, US-funded battle on the drug trade that often finances left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitary fighters.
The US and Colombian governments say fumigation operations have reduced the amount of land used to cultivate coca, the base ingredient of cocaine.