U.S. ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT MEXICAN MOBILIZATIONS AGAINST THE DRUG WAR

Hundreds of Mexicans began a three day march yesterday to protest the
death and violence of the failed drug war.

The national protest movement was formed last month after the murders
of several innocent young people, including the son of Mexican poet
and journalist Javier Sicilia. Mr. Sicilia joined family members of
other drug war victims yesterday in leading a silent protest march
from Cuernavaca to Mexico City. The march will culminate in a
convergence on the capital's Zocalo (main square) on Sunday, May 8 -
when protests are also planned in dozens of other Mexican cities and
in New York, California, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and several other
U.S. states.

"The brutal assassination of my son, Juan Francisco...is added to so
many other boys and girls who have been assassinated just the same
throughout the country," Mr. Sicilia wrote last month in a public
letter that catalyzed the national mobilizations. "We will go out into
the street because we do not want one more child, one more son,
assassinated."

To watch Javier Sicilia's call to the people of Mexico to honor those
who have been killed in the drug war, and to participate in the
national days of action from May 5-8th, click here.

Meanwhile, a coalition of over two dozen organizations in the United
States is joining the protesters in calling for a new strategy.

Our organizations collectively express our solidarity and support for
the national days of action in Mexico against the drug war, and extend
our deepest sympathies to those who have lost loved ones in the tragic
violence. We hope that people on both sides of the border, including
Presidents Obama and Calderon, begin a serious discussion about
alternatives to this unwinnable war without delay.

In an open letter, the coalition emphasizes that prohibition has
failed to reduce drug use while generating and intensifying violence,
corruption and human rights abuses in Mexico on a horrific scale. The
groups - made up of experts and advocates in drug policy and Latin
American affairs - call for critical reforms in Mexico and the U.S.
Such policy changes include judicial and police reform and better
human rights protections in Mexico, and greater efforts to curb the
southward flow of arms and reduce drug demand in the U.S.

Among the reforms urged by the coalition is an open debate about
alternatives to drug prohibition, which is the root cause of the
violence that has killed nearly 40,000 people in Mexico in four years.
The letter implores the U.S. to "reform its failed prohibitionist drug
policies." As a first step, the organizations advocate the taxation
and regulation of marijuana, which could significantly diminish the
profits of violent traffickers.

"Above all, we call upon the United States, Mexico and the
international community to begin an open, honest and public debate
about remedying the failures of drug prohibition," the open letter
reads. "Out of respect for the people of Mexico, who have borne the
highest cost of this war's failure, we must put all options on the
table for a new strategy."

Full text of the open letter is available at: drugpolicy.org/Mexico-Sign-On