Mexico decriminalizes drug sales
Yod Vau
Miguel Aleman
in Acapulco, walking along, looking at Mexican oil paintings, and a
Mexican walks right up and asks me if I want to "score some coke?"
With long hair and a beard, wearing a T-shirt and cutoff levis and flip
flops, I guess I did look like a flippy dippy hippy that might be a
drug user instead of being a college student.
That was the first time a Mexican approached me with offers of drugs,
or his sister, or his brother. Those people will sell anything there
might be a market for.
Now, with the legalization of small quantities of certain drugs, the
Mexicans think they can
concentrate on the pushers instead of the "recreational user".
It sounds to me like the pushers will just employ more Mexican street
youths as runners, carrying legal quantities of drugs one way, and
carrying the profits back to the larger dealers. The kids would never
have enough drugs to be arrested and could claim they only had the
drugs for their own use.
(That reminds me of the Palestinian con artist that told me how he
passed counterfeit $20 bills. He worked it as a business, never
carrying more than one counterfeit $20 at a time so he could claim he
got the phony bill in change.)
And, the "recreational user" may be addicted to heroin or cocaine, but,
since they won't be arrested, they won't be held in a jail cell while
they undergo the agonies of withdrawal and won't be pressured to give
authorities the name of their connection.
(Heroin withdrawal isn't pretty. I watched a heroin addict crying like
a baby for a fix, and the cops wouldn't give him any methadone until he
snitched on his source.)
U.S. Reacts to Mexico's Drug Legalization
Sunday, April 30, 2006
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193702,00.html
MEXICO CITY - The United States reacted cautiously on Saturday to a
Mexican measure that would make it legal to carry small amounts of
cocaine, heroin and other drugs for personal use.
News of the decriminalization did not make the front pages of any major
Mexico City newspaper, nor was it discussed in editorials. It was
slightly better publicized in the north of the country, where turf wars
between rival drugs gangs have caused hundreds of killings along the
Mexico-U.S. border, but was still overshadowed by news about
immigration.
President Vicente Fox has yet to sign the bill, which would eliminate
penalties for those caught with small amounts of some drugs, but his
office has applauded it.
Mexican lawmakers have said the bill will let authorities focus on
major drug traffickers and not clutter prisons with small-time
offenders.
Mexico's Congress Legalizes Drugs for Personal Use
Friday, April 28, 2006
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193616,00.html
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 remaining step was the signature of President Vicente Fox,
whose office indicated he would sign it.
Supporters said the law would let police focus on drug smuggling,
rather than on busting casual users. The bill also would stiffen many
drug-related penalties: for trafficking, for possession near schools,
and for possession of even small quantities by government employees.
Criminal penalties for drug sales would remain on the books.
"We can't close our eyes to this reality," said Sen. Jorge Zermeno, of
Fox's conservative National Action Party. "We cannot continue to fill
our jails with people who have addictions."
The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush scrambled to come
up with a response.
"We're still studying the legislation, but any effort to decriminalize
illegal drugs would not be helpful," a U.S. diplomat said on condition
of anonymity.
The bill, passed by Mexico's Senate on a 53-26 vote with one
abstention, had already been quietly approved in the lower house of
Congress and was sent Friday to the president's desk. Presidential
spokesman Ruben Aguilar indicated Fox would sign it.
"This law gives police and prosecutors better legal tools to combat
drug crimes that do so much damage to our youth and children," he said.
If signed into law, the bill could have an impact on Mexico's
relationship with the United States - and on the vast numbers of
vacationing students who visit Mexico, often to take advantage of its
rarely enforced drinking age of 18.
The bill says criminal charges will no longer be brought for possession
of up to 25 milligrams of heroin, five grams of marijuana - about
one-fifth of an ounce, or about four joints - 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," the Senate bill
reads. It 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 (2.2 pounds) 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.
In Colombia, a 1994 court ruling decriminalized personal possession of
small amounts of cocaine, heroin and other drugs. But President Alvaro
Uribe, who is almost assured of re-election next month, wants to change
that with a constitutional amendment.
"Allowing the personal dosage of drugs is inconsistent with a country
committed to fighting the war on drugs," Uribe said at a campaign stop.
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."
U.S. legalization advocates greeted the bill with glee.
Ethan Nadelmann, director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance,
called it "a very good move," saying it removed "a huge opportunity for
low-level police corruption." In Mexico, police often release people
detained for minor drug possession in exchange for bribes.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said Saturday the measure could
actually make it easier to prosecute drug crimes because it attempts to
"precisely specify the amount of narcotics in possession of a suspect
to allow a criminal prosecution."
"Preliminary information from Mexican legislative sources indicates
that the intent of the draft legislation is to clarify the 'small
amounts' of drugs for personal use as stated in current Mexican law,"
she said.
Mexican law already left 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." The new bill
drops the "addict" requirement - automatically letting any
"consumers" have drugs - and sets out specific allowable quantities.
In Mexico City's stylish Zona Rosa neighborhood, Mexicans and tourists
alike were surprised to hear it could soon be legal to carry small
amounts of drugs.
Drug violence "will drop because there will be less pressure on the
people who consume drugs," said Francisco Garrido, who was selling
orange juice at a sidewalk stall.
But Berta Perez, an antique store owner, worried that drug sales would
bring young budget travelers and spook away well-heeled tourists.
If signed by Fox, purchasing drugs "would be like buying a cigarette on
the street," she said.
Washington has long praised the Fox administration for its anti-drug
efforts.
Since the president took office in December 2000, several key drug
lords have been captured, including Benjamin Arellano Felix, the
suspected operations chief of a Tijuana-based drug gang bearing his
family's name, and Osiel Cardenas, the accused head of the Gulf cartel,
thought mainly to operate along Mexico's border with Texas.
Yet drug addiction is growing in Mexico, especially in border cities
like Tijuana.
John Morgan, a retired school psychologist visiting Mexico City from
Grand Junction, Colo., said it makes sense for the country to
decriminalize marijuana - but that harder drugs maybe should not be
included.
"We have put people in jails for years for marijuana, something that is
probably less harmful than alcohol," he said. "But the list here is a
little too global, there are several classes of drugs which are quite
harmful."