Tim Cavanaugh Talks Vicente Fox and the Drug War with KOGO's Chris Reed, 7:33pm Pacific

Reason Senior Editor will talk about drug legalization with the San Diego Union Tribune's Chris Reed tonight on San Diego's KOGO 600 AM.

Topic: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has been traveling El Norte calling for the United States to end the increasingly violent drug war by legalizing drugs. Here's what he told the SDUT recently:

Q: You and many other Mexicans have said Mexico is facing an unfair burden as it fights drug-trafficking groups supplying the U.S. market. Why?

A: Why are we trying to stop the drugs from crossing to the United States? Wouldn't it be easier for the U.S. government, for President (Barack) Obama to give instructions to U.S. enforcement agencies and tell them stop drugs from moving freely within the United States? … The United States is sending a few dollars to Mexico for the Merida agreement and some instructions, "Please Mexicans hold the drugs down there, we don't want it here in the United States." How many lives are we going to be sacrificing?

Q: You have been calling for drug legalization for the past two years. Why not during your presidency?

A: If I would have seen 40,000 people die during my term, believe me, I would have changed things. … I see the process in the United States — how it's advancing quickly toward legalization. I see cases abroad, like Portugal, and see a solution there.

Q: Last month, major Mexican news organizations agreed to guidelines for more restrained coverage of the drug-related violence in Mexico. Why are you against this pact?

A: Freedom does not have a degree. Freedom has to be all the way, even if in the name of freedom you make mistakes, even if in the name of freedom you affect others. This was done wrongly by the media in Mexico. I would like to hear their explanation of why they were forced to, either by the group or some leaders, to act like that. By taking out crime coverage from the papers, it's not going to solve the problem in Mexico, that's for sure.

Cavanaugh and Reed will roll up these ideas and smoke them, for your listening pleasure. 

Time: Tonight, 7:33pm Pacific, 10:33pm Eastern

Place: San Diegans (Diegolians? Diegans and Diegettes?) can tune their Marconi sets to 600 on the AM dial.

Others can listen live on the worldwide cybertubes.