"Disproportional penalties ... create vicious cycles of marginalization and further crime," Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto told the gathering. He also called for the decriminalization of marijuana for medical and scientific purposes and said the international community's responses to drug issues is "frankly, insufficient."

He said Mexico in the coming days would announce specific drug policies with an emphasis on health and human rights.

Where is the U.S.? At least Hillary and Bernie are on the same page:

Prior to this week's three-day meeting, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, rock star Sting and hundreds of others sent an open to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon letter saying the war on drugs has failed. It said that for decades, governments have focused resources on repressing drug use, resulting in the imprisonment of millions of people, mostly the poor and ethnic minorities, and mostly for non-violent offenses

The letter's signers, including former presidents of Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Switzerland and others, joined a growing number of government officials and drug policy analysts calling for a shift in global drug policy from emphasizing criminalization to health and human rights.

Unfortunately, due to the intransigence of Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and China, the group did not call for an end to the death penalty. Instead, it called for penalties proportionate to the crime.

That is unacceptable. The death penalty for drug traffickers is an abomination and must end.

Please stay on topic in your comments -- it's the global war on drugs and death penalty, not Hillary or Bernie, unless its about their current positions.