Thread: Mexico set to decriminalise pot and cocaine

http://today.reuters.co.uk

Mexico set to decriminalise pot and cocaine
Fri Apr 28, 2006 7:09 PM BST


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Possessing marijuana, cocaine and even heroin will no longer be a crime in Mexico if the drugs are carried in small amounts for personal use, under legislation passed by the Mexican Congress.

The measure given final passage by senators late on Thursday allows police to focus on their battle against major drug dealers, the government says, and President Vicente Fox is expected to sign it into law.

"This law provides more judicial tools for authorities to fight crime," presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said on Friday. The measure was approved earlier by the lower house.

Under the legislation, police will not penalise people for possessing up to 5 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of opium, 25 milligrams of heroin or 500 milligrams of cocaine.

People caught with larger quantities of drugs will be treated as narcotics dealers and face increased jail terms under the plan.

The legal changes will also decriminalise the possession of limited quantities of other drugs, including LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, amphetamines and peyote -- a psychotropic cactus found in Mexico's northern deserts.

Hundreds of people, including several police officers, have been killed in the past year as drug cartels battle authorities and compete with each other for control of lucrative cocaine, marijuana and heroin smuggling routes from Mexico into the United States.

The violence has raged mostly in northern Mexico but in recent months has spread south to cities like vacation resort Acapulco.

Under current law, it is up to local judges and police to decide on a case-by-case basis whether people should be prosecuted for possessing small quantities of drugs, a source at the Senate's health commission told Reuters.

"The object of this law is to not put consumers in jail, but rather those who sell and poison," said Sen. Jorge Zermeno of the ruling National Action Party.

Fifty-three senators voted for the bill with 26 votes against it.

hey, perhaps all our dopers will see this and move to mexico.

And King Bush wants an open border with this rat trap?

This really really pisses me off. It's bad enough that all along the southwest and western states mexican drug trafficers control nearly all drug trafficking of heroin, cocaine and marijuana as well as crystal meth.
Now the gov't of mexico finds it expedient to allow even the common farmer to traffic smaller amounts back and forth over the border. This is completely outrageous. Bush does nothing. Bush is well aware of the drug trafficking and I wouldn't at all be surprised if his family were involved with the elites in Mexico and the money laundering through banks.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

Mexico to decriminalize small amounts of hard drugs
MARK STEVENSON

Associated Press

Mexico City — Mexico's Congress approved a bill Friday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin for personal use — a measure sure to raise questions in Washington about Mexico's commitment to the war on drugs.

The only step remaining was the signature of the president, whose office indicated he would sign it.

Mexican officials hope the law will help police focus on large-scale trafficking operations, rather than minor drug busts. The bill also stiffens penalties for trafficking and possession of drugs — even small quantities — by government employees or near schools, and maintains criminal penalties for drug sales.

The Bush administration had no immediate reaction.

The bill, passed by Mexico's Senate on a 53-26 vote with one abstention, had already been approved in the lower house of Congress and was sent to the desk of Mexican President Vicente Fox for his signature.

“This law gives police and prosecutors better legal tools to combat drug crimes that do so much damage to our youth and children,” presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said.

The bill says criminal charges will no longer be brought for possession of up to 25 milligrams of heroin, five grams of marijuana, and half a gram of cocaine — about half the standard street-size quantity, which is enough for several lines of the drug.

“No charges will be brought against ... addicts or consumers who are found in possession of any narcotic for personal use,” according to the Senate bill, which also lays out allowable quantities for a large array of other drugs, including LSD, MDA, ecstasy — about two pills' worth, — and amphetamines.

Some of the amounts are eye-popping: Mexicans would be allowed to possess a kilogram of peyote, the button-sized hallucinogenic cactus used in some native Indian religious ceremonies.

Mexican law now leaves open the possibility of dropping charges against people caught with drugs if they are considered addicts and if “the amount is the quantity necessary for personal use.” But the exemption isn't automatic.

The new bill drops the “addict” requirement — automatically allowing any “consumers” to have drugs — and sets out specific allowable quantities.

Sale of all drugs would remain illegal under the proposed law, unlike the Netherlands, where the sale of marijuana for medical use is legal and it can be bought with a prescription in pharmacies.

While Dutch authorities look the other way regarding the open sale of cannabis in designated coffee shops — something Mexican police seem unlikely to do — the Dutch have zero tolerance for heroin and cocaine. In both countries, commercial growing of marijuana is outlawed.

The effects could be significant, given that Mexico is rapidly becoming a drug-consuming nation as well as a shipment point for traffickers, and given the number of U.S. students who flock to border cities or resorts like Cancun and Acapulco on vacation.

“This is going to increase addictions in Mexico,” said Ulisis Bon, a drug treatment expert in Tijuana, where heroin use is rampant. “A lot of Americans already come here to buy medications they can't get up there ... Just imagine, with heroin.”

http://www.signonsandiego.com

Mayor: Mexico drug measure 'appallingly stupid'


SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES

5:25 p.m. April 28, 2006

SAN DIEGO – San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders Friday called a bill passed by Mexico's Congress decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin for personal use “appallingly stupid.”
“I want to call this action what it is – appallingly stupid, reckless and incredibly dangerous,” Sanders said.

The bill was passed by Mexico's Senate on a 53-26 vote and President Vicente Fox has indicated he will sign it into law.

People in possession of up to five grams of marijuana, half a gram of cocaine or 25 milligrams of heroin would no longer be subject to punishment under the proposed legislation.

It would also allow the possession of small amounts of LSD, MDA, ecstasy and methamphetamine, officials said.

“If enacted, even the most reasonable person will have room to question Mexico's commitment to the war on drugs,” the former police chief turned mayor said. “I think many, including myself, will view this as a hostile action by a longtime ally to the United States.”

Mexican officials have suggested the legislation would help free up law enforcement resources to take on the large drug traffickers and cartels.

Sanders said he has written to Fox to try and “encourage” him not to enact the legislation, and called the White House to voice his concerns.

“This is not an action I greet warmly as the mayor of the largest American city on the border,” Sanders said.

Sanders was joined by a contingency of local law enforcement, health and elected officials at City Hall late Friday afternoon to voice their opposition to the proposed Mexican drug policy.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis called the bill a “critical mistake.”

“For us here in San Diego, we are a global community with Tijuana and Baja California,” Dumanis said. “There may be a border, but really our lives are intertwined. Now more addicts will pour into our streets.”

San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne said Mexico's decision will lead to increased crime rates in the city.

Lansdowne argued that users and addicts are now going to enter Mexico for drugs and then come back across the border under the influence.

“They are the ones most prone to commit acts of violence,” Lansdowne said.

Sanders said the bill could “not come at a worse time” for Mexicans during the national debate over immigration.

“I think it completely changes the arguments that are being talked about by the different sides,” Sanders said. “I think this is going to stiffen the issues. I think that it's going to be necessary to have a much more secure border.”