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At a youth conference in his home state of Guanajuato on Thursday, former Mexican president Vicente Fox said he would grow marijuana if it were legal.

"Once it's legitimate and legal, sure, I'm a farmer, I would do it, yes," Fox said, according the Mexican newspaper El Universal. "The day it is legitimate and approved as an industry, producers of all kinds could participate."

The paper reports that the ex-President went on extensively about the economic, security, and medical benefits of legalizing and regulating the drug's production.

Here's another translated excerpt from the newspaper's story:

He said marijuana isn't so harmful, and with adequate controls and regulation, it could be a legal, operative industry that would deprive drug traffickers of millions and millions and millions of dollars.

Fox said Mexico could become an exporter of marijuana to countries where its consumption is already legal, either for recreational or medical purposes. He also announced a symposium to be held in March of next year, which would include attendees from the United States to discuss the issue, the newspaper reports.