Mexico’s Congress on Friday approved a bill decriminalizing possession of small quantities of marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and even heroin for personal use, prompting U.S. criticism that the measure could harm anti-drug efforts.
The only step remaining was the signature of President Vicente Fox, whose office indicated he would sign the bill, which Mexican officials hope will allow police to focus on large-scale trafficking operations rather than minor drug busts.
“This law gives police and prosecutors better legal tools to combat drug crimes that do so much damage to our youth and children,” said Fox’s spokesman, Ruben Aguilar.
Ethan Nadelmann, director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, said the bill removed “a huge opportunity for low-level police corruption.” In Mexico, police often release people detained for minor drug possession, in exchange for bribes.
Selling all these 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.
Decriminalizing personal drug use removes profit incentives for gangsters — whether they’re in or out of government. I’ll leave the rest of the discussion up to the appropriately moral.
Finally! Now all those hippies living in New Mexico, Arizona, and California will start immigrating to Mexico! Let the reverse tide begin!
Further proof the Mexican government is a joke. No wonder they all come here.
>Decriminalizing personal drug use removes profit incentives for gangsters
It’s decriminalizing the sale that removes their profit incentive.
When it comes to this threat from south of the border challenging America, I say “Back off, Mexico!” They’re only doing this to compete with Florida as the destination of choice for kids taking part in the debauchery of “Spring Break” festivities. Even worse, I believe Mexico’s ultimate goal is to attract the multi-million dollar industry known as “Girls Gone Wild” filming. For years now, Mexico has had their eyes on these hot chicks and the cinematically important documentaries based on their playful antics. Their plan to attract our girls with arrest-free partying is becoming all too clear.
Folks, we’ve got to start praying that “Girls Gone Wild” remains a strictly American enterprise. We can’t afford to see such a visible industry exported to Mexico. When Lady Liberty said “Give us your tired, your poor…,” she never promised we’d send away our hot chicks in return. Back off, Mexico!
Fox either want’s something from Washington for this to go away, or just to needle them. Legalization of small amounts has been a world trend. It ties up courts and jails, really serving no purpose. Most countries are moving away from this draconian enforcement. They don’t have the resources anyway. It’s not a deterrence, users are going to take the risks.
A friend of mine read this article last night and made an excellent point. My friend is somewhat criminally minded when it comes to his business ideas, and came to the conclusion that this does little more than reduce the transport costs of getting drugs through Mexico.
Mexico has no shortage of poor people looking for work, and my friend claims it would a fairly profitable proposition moving heroin and coke up through Mexico in “personal use” portions.
I’m not if favor of drug use, but I always wondered why a poor health choice would become a felony. We don’t criminalize people who eat too much or forget their insulin (yet).
“I always wondered why a poor health choice would become a felony”
I’ve thought about this too, and the odd thing about illegal drugs is that they are a victimless crime. Sure, people say that we’re all affected by illegal drug use. But there is no specific victim who goes to the police and who later testifies at trial.
If a government wanted to put someone in jail on made-up criminal charges, they would need a victim to play a role throughout the entire legal process. However, with illegal drugs, there is no such role to play. The target can be arrested and convicted on nothing more than a substance found in his or her possession. That’s a very powerful ability for a government to have. And that’s why I think we have it.
#8 & #9, Good comment. Let’s takes another one, child porn. Who gets hurt viewing child porn via the internet?
In the case of child porn, you could argue that the child is injured. That is true. But the child is injured by the photographer, not the end viewer. The same analogy would apply to illegal drugs, the street user isn’t hurting anyone, but there is a lot of crime associated with illegal drugs too. Prostitution, burglaries, and other petty crimes done to pay for an addiction.
Decriminalize personal use of drugs. If someone is sick they should be helped medically, not criminally.
What’s the point of drug control anyway? Alcohol and tobacco contribute most to drug-related deaths around the world, yet governments have no qualms about legality, as long as manufacturers and distributors pay their taxes. In the end, the issue is not morality or even health–the main concern of governments have always been money.
Nature made alot of things on this planet.
A few can get you high, and buzzing. In their natural forms, 99% of these are NOT habitual.
Out of ALL the druggies that came back from VeitNam.. only 1% continued use. Hmm, could this be, that the drugs were Pure, and not Cooked down, or cut with STUFF….?
MJ, when its naturally grown isnt that hard a drug, its when they USE certain fertilizers, and process it to MAKE it stronger that you get the STRONG stuff. Just like they do with TOBACCO…
John – great photo slideshow from your 2006 trip to Amsterdam! Readers, you can find John’s pictures at: http://www.dvorak.org/amsterdam
Come on, John, tell us: while you were there, did you patronize any of the coffeeshops?
One big party……………
It makes sence the war on drugs is a finacial drain.
Make it legal, tax hell out of it, sell it like liquor and cigarettes and make the adrenalin junkies (narcs, etc) go get real jobs. There are alcoholics, people coughing their guts out from too many cigarettes and a whole lot of fat people who eat way too much banana pudding out there, a few more drug crazed basket people won’t make that much difference. Maybe we could even earmark a serious percentage of the taxes to helping the addicts.
well,
considering that 60% of those in Jai9l in the US, as on drug charges…. WHY not….thats $40,000 LESS per person PER YEAR….What a savings…
When “poor” health choice became a felony, When the addicts started burglarizing your house for dope money, when children are left for days in filthy residences with no food, when someone high on a “users” amount of marijuana hits a mini van carrying a family of five and they all die, when someone in your family becomes an addict and the only way to rehab is court ordered.
#16–Susan==all quite correct but have you ever added up the harm caused by having drugs illegal? When drugs are illegal, the entire morality/cost equations change as an economic incentive to promote addiction is introduced. People and countries become corrupted.
Much better to have legalized drugs and treat the much smaller problem as a medical issue rather than a criminal one.
Sad. Just add drug policy to the already long list of everything the USA has wrong.
Susan said: “when someone high on a “users” amount of marijuana hits a mini van carrying a family of five and they all die”
I ask is this truly the ignorance that many people have to the affects of marijuana? If someone is a BAD driver, being “high” on marijuana is not going to affect that outcome. Driving a vehicle is an subconscious skill in which your EYES send information to your brain and your brain sends commands to your hands and feet. While being “high” may contribute to getting lost or forgetting directions, it is not going to contribute to an accident as long as the person is completely aware of his surroundings.