Mexico defense chief says legalizing opium ‘way out’ of violence

Mexico’s defense minister said on Friday legalizing opium for medicinal use could contain violence caused by drug gangs fighting over poppy fields and trafficking routes in the country’s southwest.

Defense Minister General Salvador Cienfuegos spoke to reporters during a visit to the town of Teloloapan in the crime-ridden state of Guerrero, where much of the heroin trafficked to the United States is produced.

Legalization “is already on the table. I think it can be a way out of the problem,” Cienfuegos said when asked about violence in the state and proposals to regulate opium production.

Olga Sanchez . . .