Pompo

Mexico seeks to decriminalize small-time drug use
10/3/08|Reuters| By Miguel Angel Gutierrez

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a bloody battle with drug cartels, wants to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs in a plan likely to irk Washington.


Mexican President Felipe Calderon-----------Photo courtesy of Google Images


Calderon, a conservative in power nearly two years, sent a proposal to Congress Thursday that would scrap the penalties for drugs including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, opium and marijuana.

"What we are seeking is to not treat an addict as a criminal, but rather as a sick person and give them psychological and medical treatment," said Sen. Alejandro Gonzalez, head of the Senate's justice committee.

Under Calderon's plan, people carrying up to 2 grams (0.07 ounces) of marijuana or opium, half a gram of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin or 40 milligrams of methamphetamine would face no criminal charges.

It would also give Mexican states the power to try drug dealers in local courts instead of at the federal level.

Reviving a similar effort by his predecessor, Calderon aims to free up police to hunt for dealers and smugglers. But the plan could run into opposition in largely conservative Mexico as well as in the United States.

In a separate proposal, the president asked the Senate to shake up Mexico's notoriously inept and often corrupt police.

Calderon said poor training and a lack of coordination between forces are hindering efforts to rein in rampant drug violence and organized crime.

"They are at the limit in terms of not sharing intelligence in crime fighting, something which eventually means a lack of organisation in the state's capacity to deal with the crime phenomenon," he said.

Some analysts say that up to half of Mexico's police could be in the pay of drug cartels, which offer bribes that dwarf the paltry wages of the average officer.

Former president Vicente Fox introduced a drug decriminalization measure in 2006 but ditched it after Washington objected and critics on both sides of the border said it could lure "drug tourists" from the United States.

Drug use is less common among young people in Mexico than in the United States or Europe. But consumption is creeping up with the growth of the middle class and as tighter border controls mean more cocaine stays in the country.

Calderon has deployed thousands of troops to clamp down on the drug gangs that shuttle Colombian cocaine over Mexico's northern border. But cartel violence has soared as a result, killing some 3,000 people this year.

SpiralArchitect

I've heard about this. I actually thought it had passed before. I guess not.

Either way, this is a good step in the right direction. Decriminalize and quit punishing the users.

Ah, I see. This is what I thought..... I hope it passes this time. Quit being bullied by USA and do whats right!

Damn. I have a few online friends in Mexico and I have heard that corruption is in fact wild and that you can simply 'buy your way' out of most charges, including drugs (which the officer apparently keeps for himself).

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frolic

La Mordida has existed in Mexico forever, The bigger the crime the the greater the price.

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"Where the hell is my comb?"
Einstein

Buzzby

This would be good for small time users, LEOs, and, especially, street dealers. Instead of buying ounces, people would be buying their weed two grams at a time, boosting profits tremendously.

As long as that's true, I don't see much hope in Mexico stemming the flow of drugs. Where's Eliot Ness when you need him?

I don't see what's changed, except that the US might be too busy with its own problems at the moment to expend any effort on interfering with Mexican internal policies.

That's equivalent to a 9/11's worth of dead citizens and soldiers. And it goes on, year after year.

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SpiralArchitect

What do you mean here? I guess the analogy is just throwing me off.... terrorism? First vape in a while, excuse me....

I'm not sure, Mexico is our little buddy. We like to keep an eye out for him....

I wonder what McCain/Obama's stance on this is.... Now *that* is a good topic; 'meddling with other countries internal government affairs', particularly those concerning drug laws. It's widely known we like to exert our influence on other countries and their drug laws.

Buzzby

Terrorism, extortion, bribery, murder... Take your pick. My actual thought was that the US started two wars over the deaths of 3,000 citizens but Mexico suffers that many deaths a year due to the drug trade.

420lovethatCHRONIC

IMAO, I think it is a good idea, since people would be buying smaller amounts legally, it would cut down on large scale purchases and abuse. If someone can just walk down the street and buy a couple grams instead of saving thier money up and getting as much as possible, theyre less likely to overdose and they dont have to worry about getting caught. I wonder why they cant just completely legalize having any amount of marijuana, and make having the other harder drugs a lesser offense? Wouldnt that cut down on harder drug abuse if everyone could just smoke weed?

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Long you'll live and high you'll fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be. - Pink Floyd

When you smoke the herb it reveals you to yourself - Bob Marley

Buzzby

I doubt it. Hard drug users could smoke weed now, if that was what they wanted. There is little evidence that the degree of illegality has much effect on drug use. Different drugs have different effects. If you're the kind of person who's looking for a heroin effect, a meth effect, or a cocaine effect, marijuana wouldn't do it for you.

Only 2% of marijuana users ever become hard drug users. That indicates to me that there is little connection between the attraction to marijuana and the attraction to hard drugs.

SoThrowd

The only connection between marijuana and harder drugs is the dealers getting people to buy their other drugs and make you more of a customer. The way I see it, marijuana is only a gateway drug because of prohibition. I have never had a dealer sell just marijuana. They always ask me if I fuck with pills and other stuff. I always turn down the offer since I am smart enough. But when weed is legal, we do not have to see the advertisement to harder drugs every time we just want a little marry j.

420lovethatCHRONIC

Ok now i understand why they would lgalize the harder drugs as well, i was kinda wondering about that, but it makes sense to me now, thanks.