Poiré argued that the drug-gang violence was present in Mexico long before President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa declared war on the drug gangs in December 2006. The problem for the government is that independent statistics do not bear out his case. According to statistics from Reforma's Ejecutómetro, 2,117 people were killed by gangsters in Mexico in 2006. In 2010, 11,583 were, and so far this year (to 27 May) 5,374 have been. Currently the gang murder rate is running at 300 a week, so this year's killings are on course to exceed 2010's.
Poiré said that he agreed with the principle that drug consumers should not be treated as criminals. He said that the government's health law allows (very small amounts of) drugs for personal consumption and also treats addicts as a public health issue. Poiré said that between the beginning of 2009 and 2010 over 5m people with drug-abuse problems had been involved in the government's anti-drug scheme, the Red Nacional de Atención a las Adicciones.
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