This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, June 2, 2011.

I'm Caleb Brown.

The War on Drugs has failed.

This may not be news to you, but this time the message is coming from some surprising people.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy Report comes just as the United States marks 40 years

of involvement in the War on Drugs.

Cato Institute Project Coordinator for Latin America,

Juan Carlos Edalgo comments.

We know for sure that the War on Drug is a failure.

We've been saying so at the Cato Institute for many years if you look at the

headlines from Mexico, from Central America, South American, Afghanistan, we see that all the efforts

to battle drug production have failed miserably and as well as here in the

United States if you look at the numbers on consumption rates they have remained

pretty much stable in the last couple of decades. I think this is a welcome

endorsement of drug reform coming from a very high profile group committee which

includes a former Secretary General of the United Nations,

the former Secretary General of NATO.

You have former Presidents like Fernando Ricciardo of Brazil,

Ernesto Cédosardoo Brazil,

Ernesto Cério of Mexico.

And interestingly enough, for the first time

you have a seating head of government,

...