Concerns raised over measure to legalise marijuana

Colombia (AP):

The leaders of several Latin American nations on the front line of the battle against drugs said yesterday that a California ballot measure to legalise marijuana would send a contradictory message from the United States.

The November 2 election in California was a key topic as Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos hosted the presidents of Mexico and three other countries at a one-day summit.

Santos said that if Californians approve Proposition 19, it would require reviewing the principles that have long underpinned efforts to combat drugs in Latin America with support from Washington.

"How can I tell a farmer in my country that if he grows marijuana, I'll put him in jail, when in the richest state of the United States it's legal to produce, traffic and consume the same product?" Santos said in an interview broadcast on Sunday by the Colombian radio station Caracol.

Officials in President Barack Obama's administration have said the federal government will continue to pursue its counter-drug policies and that they are looking at options for responding to the measure, which would conflict with federal laws classifying marijuana as an illegal drug.