Mexico to reconsider joint policies with U.S. amid new state marijuana laws

By Jerry Seper

The Washington Times
Thursday, November 8, 2012


A top aide to Mexico’s President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto says votes to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state will force the Mexican government to rethink its efforts at trying to halt marijuana smuggling across the Southwest border.

Luis Videgaray, former general coordinator of Mr. Pena Nieto’s successful 2012 campaign who now heads the incoming president’s transition team, told Radio Formula 970 in Mexico City the new administration has consistently opposed the legalization of drugs, but the Colorado and Washington state votes are in conflict with his government’s longstanding and costly efforts to eradicate the cultivation and smuggling of marijuana.
“These important modifications change somewhat the rules of the game in the relationship with the United States,” Mr. Videgaray said. “I think we have to carry out a review of our joint policies in regard to drug trafficking and security in general.

“Obviously we can’t handle a product that is illegal in Mexico, trying to stop its transfer to the United States, when in the United States, at least in part of the United States, it now has a different status,” he said.

More than 47,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón began a military assault on violent drug cartels in that country in 2006.

During his presidential campaign, Mr. Pena Nieto vowed to continue that country’s fight against drug trafficking. The topic of legalized marijuana is sure to come up during Mr. Pena Nieto’s planned Nov. 27 trip to the United States, when he will visit the White House.

The Obama administration has been silent on the issue of legalized recreational marijuana, although it vigorously and publicly opposed a similar measure in 2010 in California, which was defeated. At that time, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. issued a warning letter saying the Justice Department would “vigorously enforce” federal drug laws if the state initiative passed. Mr. Holder did not publicly comment on this year’s efforts to legalize marijuana in Colorado and Washington state.

Asked about the Colorado and Washington state votes, Justice Department spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said only: “The department’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance. We are reviewing the ballot initiatives and have no additional comment at this time.”
The White House has had no comment on Mr. Videgaray’s remarks.

The new laws allow those 21 and older in Washington state to purchase an ounce of marijuana from a licensed retailer and in Colorado to possess an ounce of the drug and grow as many as six plants in private. The Colorado law is scheduled to go into effect in June. The Washington law starts in December 2013.

Despite the lack of comments, current federal law — the Controlled Substances Act — lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and has no accepted medical use. Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD and Ecstasy.
Mr. Videgaray is expected to play a significant role in the Pena Nieto administration. In September, the newly-elected president, who will assume office on Dec. 1, said Mr. Videgaray would head the team that will set policy direction for the new government.