Sting accused of helping turn Uruguay into a laboratory for drug reform Uruguay, a nation of three million, is one of a number of Latin and Central American countries that are now looking at legalisation and decriminalisation measures, principally in response to the crime problems generated by drug trafficking. In Mexico alone, an estimated 70,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since 2006 as the government has attempted a crackdown on cocaine cartels. Critics, though, say the move is effectively a leap into the unknown, and claim there is as yet no hard evidence to prove that marijuana does not act as a gateway drug to cocaine and heroin. Last month, Argentinian-born Pope Francis, an influential voice in Latin America, also made his opposition clear during his visit Brazil. "A reduction in the spread and influence of drug addiction will not be achieved by a liberalisation of drug use, as is currently being proposed in various parts of Latin America," he said during a visit to a crack addiction clinic in Rio. Instead, he claimed, it was necessary to confront more underlying problems, "educating young people in the values that build up life in society." The Drug Policy Alliance is an influential non-governmental organisation that campaigns for the liberalisation of drug laws on a variety of public health, civil liberties and law-enforcement grounds. Its backers include lawyers, judges, surgeon generals, police chiefs and politicians from across the political spectrum, including Ariana Huffington, editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, and George Shultz, former secretary of state to the late President Ronald Reagan. Sting, who sits as an honorary member of its international board along with Sir Richard Branson, has long advocated drug reform, saying money spent on law enforcement would be better used tackling problems such as poverty and global warming. Last year, Sir Richard's son, Sam, produced a documentary called Breaking The Taboo, narrated by Morgan Freeman, which aimed to champion drug reform in the same way that Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth promoted climate change awareness. In February, the group sent its Americas co-ordinator, Hannah Hetzer, to Uruguay to help local activists campaign for the bill, under which licences will be given to cannabis farmers, and products sold through chemists to registered consumers. While Ms Hetzer says the alliance's campaigning efforts changed public opinion polls by only a few percent, opponents claim the campaign played a pivotal role, and that it represented the very kind of American "cultural imperialism" that the liberal Left claims to disdain. "Without their support, the bill would not have had the same momentum," said Mr Amarilla. There are US-based NGOs that want to use Uruguay as a laboratory. A spokesman for Sting declined to comment.