BOGOTA: Conservative Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Sunday that legalizing drugs could be something he would discuss "if violence and crime are reduced that way."

"It is an alternative that we can discuss. I am not opposed to any formula that is effective," Santos said in an interview with Semana, a news magazine.

"And if the world decides to legalize and thinks that that is how we reduce violence and crime, I could go along with that," he added.

In Latin America, several high-profile former leaders recently have come out in favor of legalizing drugs to stem drug-related violent crime, such as former presidents Cesar Gaviria of Colombia, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil.

In Mexico alone, fighting among drug cartels has left more than 34,200 people dead since December 2006.