strong policy of prevention , so that no one falls in the situation of consuming any substance , '' said Anibal Fernandez , the minister of security and justice . Ethan Nadelmann , founder and executive director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance , said such policies have been adopted throughout Europe and other parts of Latin America . `` The evidence generally shows that the decriminalization of possession is not clearly associated with any increase in illicit drug use , '' he said . A few years ago , then-Mexican President Vicente Fox proposed decriminalizing possession of drugs combined with a crackdown on traffickers , but a harsh reaction from the Bush administration caused him to retreat , Nadelmann said . Brazil and Colombia have passed laws decriminalizing drug use in an effort to combat the spread of HIV among injecting drug users , he said . Politicians recognize that `` you basically need to get those people out of the underground and into health systems , '' Nadelmann said . `` This would be part of a growing number of countries in Latin America where there is , either for political or judicial reasons , a push
BUENOS AIRES , Argentina -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner repeated her call this week to decriminalize personal drug use and crack down on traffickers and dealers . President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner says she does n't like to `` condemn someone who has an addiction . '' `` I do n't like it when people easily condemn someone who has an addiction as if he were a criminal , as if he were a person who should be persecuted , '' she told a meeting of the National Investigation into the Consumption of Alcohol , Tobacco , Psychopharmaceuticals and Illegal Drugs . `` Those who should be persecuted are those who sell the substances , those who give it away , those who traffic in it . '' A poll shows 2 percent of Argentines have tried cocaine , but some people believe decriminalization of drugs could result in wider drug use . Regardless , the Argentine government is pushing Congress to pass the decriminalization legislation by the end of the year . `` Decriminalization of the consumer should include what are called second-generation human rights , but at the same time there should be a