9 former presidents write open letter urging Obama to commute sentences of more low-level drug offenders

A group of former heads-of-state penned an open letter to President Obama urging him to commute the sentences of more low-level drug offenders during the final days of his presidency.The letter was signed by 9 former leadersall members of the Swiss-based Global Commission on Drug PolicyincludingCsar Gaviria, the president of Colombia during the assassination of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, former Brazilian presidentFernando Henrique Cardoso, and former Mexican presidentErnesto Zedillo.The ex-presidents acknowledgedthe fact that Obama commuted the sentences of more than 1,000 inmates serving sentences for "non-violent" drug crimes during his tenure. But they pushed the president to do more before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20."There are still thousands more incarcerated in federal correctional facilities, serving long sentences for drug offenses that were non-violent in nature," the letter says."We hope, therefore, that in these final days of your presidency, you will use the power of your office to commute even more prison sentences of low-level drug offenders, and restore dignity and hope to their lives."The GCDP is a panel of leaders, including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, that encouragesstate governments to re-evaluate the punitive approach to drug regulation in favor of decriminalization and "public health" methods.The letter calls the use and possession of drugs a "private decision," that should be "protected by the principle of individual rights.""The State should interfere in a private decision only if it puts society, public safety and public health at risk," the letter says.The former leadersalso wrote that they hope Obama's record on commutationswill "inspire" Trump to do the same. Thepresident-elect's pick for attorney-general, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), willlikely be anopponent of sentencing reform, however."We further acknowledge your respect for the laws passed by referendum in many states regarding the regulation of marijuana," the former presidents wrote, addressing Obama directly. "And hope that the will of the people to reform drug policies will continue to be heard."SEE ALSO:Trump's incoming spokesman: 'When you come into a Trump administration, it's the Trump agenda'Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: This is what it's really like at Trump Tower ' which is disrupting life in New York
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