MEXICO LEGALIZES DRUGS FOR PERSONAL USE!!!!!

[OrangeWidow]

ITS TRUE I READ IT IN MY LOCAL NEWS PAPER TODAY.

Mexico decriminalizes small-scale drug possession

MEXICO CITY â?? Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday â?? a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers.

Prosecutors said the new law sets clear limits that keep Mexico's corruption-prone police from extorting casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing domestic drug use in check.

"This is not legalization, this is regulating the issue and giving citizens greater legal certainty," said Bernardo Espino del Castillo of the attorney general's office.

The new law sets out maximum "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities no longer face criminal prosecution.

Espino del Castillo says, in practice, small users almost never did face charges anyway. Under the previous law, the possession of any amount of drugs was punishable by stiff jail sentences, but there was leeway for addicts caught with smaller amounts.

"We couldn't charge somebody who was in possession of a dose of a drug, there was no way ... because the person would claim they were an addict," he said.

Despite the provisions, police sometimes hauled in suspects and demanded bribes, threatening long jail sentences if people did not pay.

"The bad thing was that it was left up to the discretion of the detective, and it could open the door to corruption or extortion," Espino del Castillo said.

Anyone caught with drug amounts under the new personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and for those caught a third time treatment is mandatory.

The maximum amount of marijuana for "personal use" under the new law is 5 grams â?? the equivalent of about four joints. The limit is a half gram for cocaine, the equivalent of about 4 "lines." For other drugs, the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.

Mexico has emphasized the need to differentiate drug addicts and casual users from the violent traffickers whose turf battles have contributed to the deaths of more than 11,000 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006.

But one expert saw potential for conflict under the new law.

Javier Oliva, a political scientist at Mexico's National Autonomous University, said the new law posed "a serious contradiction" for the Calderon administration.

"If they decriminalize drugs it could lead the army, which has been given the task of combating this, to say 'What are we doing'?" he said.

Officials said the legal changes could help the government focus more on big-time traffickers.

Espino del Castillo said since Calderon took office, there have been over 15,000 police searches related to small-scale drug dealing or possession, with 95,000 people detained â?? but only 12 to 15 percent of whom were ever charged with anything.

exactly what we need:rasta:

You also have to think about the fact that many other countries are in the drug trade with coco and poppy so they are going to love this. this is one version i read.... i will post my local so you can see the adversity.

OrangeWidow Reviewed by OrangeWidow on 08-28-2009. MEXICO LEGALIZES DRUGS FOR PERSONAL USE!!!!! ITS TRUE I READ IT IN MY LOCAL NEWS PAPER TODAY. Mexico decriminalizes small-scale drug possession MEXICO CITY â?? Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday â?? a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers. Prosecutors said the new law sets clear limits that keep Mexico's corruption-prone police from extorting casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing Rating: 5

[OrangeWidow]

MEXICO CITY Mexico now has one of the world's most liberal laws for drug users after eliminating jail time for small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and even heroin, LSD and methamphetamine.

"All right!" said a grinning Ivan Rojas, a rail-thin 20-year-old addict who endured police harassment during the decade he has spent sleeping in Mexico City's gritty streets and subway stations.

But stunned police on the U.S. side of the border say the law contradicts President Felipe Calderon's drug war, and some fear it could make Mexico a destination for drug-fueled spring breaks and tourism.

Mexico's new drug use law worries US police

Tens of thousands of American college students flock to Cancun and Acapulco each year to party at beachside discos offering wet T-shirt contests and all-you-can-drink deals.

"Now they will go because they can get drugs," said San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne. "For a country that has experienced thousands of deaths from warring drug cartels for many years, it defies logic why they would pass a law that will clearly encourage drug use."

Enacted last week, the Mexican law is part of a growing trend across Latin America to treat drug use as a public health problem and make room in overcrowded prisons for violent traffickers rather than small-time users.

Brazil and Uruguay have already eliminated jail time for people carrying small amounts of drugs for personal use, although possession is still considered a crime in Brazil. Argentina's Supreme Court ruled out prison for pot possession on Tuesday and officials say they plan to propose a law keeping drug consumers out of the justice system.

Colombia has decriminalized marijuana and cocaine for personal use, but kept penalties for other drugs.

Officials in those countries say they are not legalizing drugs - just drawing a line between users, dealers and traffickers amid a fierce drug war. Mexico's law toughens penalties for selling drugs even as it relaxes the law against using them.

"Latin America is disappointed with the results of the current drug policies and is exploring alternatives," said Ricardo Soberon, director of the Drug Research and Human Rights Center in Lima, Peru.

As Mexico ratcheted up its fight against cartels, drug use jumped more than 50 percent between 2002 and 2008, according to the government, and today prisons are filled with addicts, many under the age of 25.

Rojas has spent half his life snorting cocaine and sniffing paint thinner as he roamed Mexico City's streets in a daze. Most days he was roused awake by police demanding a bribe and forcing him to move along, he said.

"It's good they have this law so police don't grab you," said Rojas, whose name, I-V-A-N, is tattooed across his knuckles.

Rojas hit bottom three weeks ago when he could not score enough money for drugs by begging and found himself shaking uncontrollably. He accepted an offer for help from workers from a drug rehabilitation center who approached him on the street.

"Drugs were finishing me off," said Rojas, whose 13-year-old brother died of an overdose eight years ago. "I lost my brother. I lost my youth."

Juan Martin Perez, who runs Caracol, the nonprofit center helping Rojas, said the government has poured millions of dollars into the drug war but has done little to treat addicts. His group relies on grants from foundations.

The new law requires officials to encourage drug users to seek treatment in lieu of jail, but the government has not allocated more money for organizations like Caracol that are supposed to help them.

Treatment is mandatory for third-time offenders, but the law does not specify penalties for noncompliance.

"This was passed quickly and quietly but it's going to have to be adjusted to match reality," Perez said.

Supporters of the change point to Portugal, which removed jail terms for drug possession for personal use in 2001 and still has one of the lowest rates of cocaine use in Europe.

Portugal's law defines personal use as the equivalent of what one person would consume over 10 days. Police confiscate the drugs and the suspect must appear before a government commission, which reviews the person's drug consumption patterns. Users may be fined, sent for treatment or put on probation.

Foreigners caught with drugs still face arrest in Portugal, a measure to prevent drug tourism.

The same is not true for Mexico, where there is no jail time for anyone caught with roughly four marijuana cigarettes, four lines of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams of methamphetamine or 0.015 milligrams of LSD.

That's what concerns U.S. law enforcement at the border.

"It provides an officially sanctioned market for the consumption of the world's most dangerous drugs," San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said. "For the people of San Diego the risk is direct and lethal. There are those who will drive to Mexico to use drugs and return to the U.S. under their influence."

Don Thornhill, a retired Drug Enforcement Administration supervisor who investigated Mexican cartels for 25 years, said Mexico's rampant drug violence will likely deter most U.S. drug users, and the new law will allow Mexican police to focus on "the bigger fish."

The Bush administration criticized a similar bill proposed in Mexico in 2006, prompting then-President Vicente Fox to send it back to Congress. But Washington has stayed quiet this time, praising Calderon for his fight against drug cartels - a struggle that has seen some 11,000 people killed since Calderon took office in 2006.

"We work with Mexico every day to combat illegal drugs and cartel violence," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said when asked about the law. "And we look forward to continuing that cooperation."



ITS GETTING CRAZY OUT THERE

[Esoteric416]

So does this mean that Mexico is the new Amsterdam? :P

Seriously though, This is great news. Now we have a next-door example that legalization for personal consumption is'nt a recipie for disaster. As the years go by the statistical numbers coming out of Mexico will put the lie to some of the drug warrior rhetoric that we hear in america.
Also I hope Mexico sees a huge boom in tourism from college students and interested others going down a bit more often to get high legally. 4-20 might become more of a road-trip to Mexico hiliday for those within reasonable distance. I guess only time will tell, but this sounds like pure win.

[OrangeWidow]

we have already had a legal neighbor up north... canada but still we could always use one more. see they are also freaking out due to the fact that people will go down get high on meth or other stuff and then come back under the influence..... but thats not our problem.... i think this is one more step towards us to legalize MJ cause they will have to fight the war on the other drugs and harass the people who are high.

[MPLSweedman]

they did this a few years ago and it lasted about 36hrs then george bush made them change it, are you sure this happened again? lol

[irydyum]

The Associated Press: Mexico's new drug use law worries US police

Didn't believe it till I read it either.

Mexico Christmas anyone:rastabanna:

[KushCrops]

we have already had a legal neighbor up north... canada but still we could always use one more. see they are also freaking out due to the fact that people will go down get high on meth or other stuff and then come back under the influence..... but thats not our problem.... i think this is one more step towards us to legalize MJ cause they will have to fight the war on the other drugs and harass the people who are high.

umm weed isn't legal here in canada at all, it's decriminalized. In Vancouver it's tolerated but still against the law.

don't know where you yankees get the message it's legal here. Yes we have lax laws but don't think people don't get arrested here. In fact the senate just passed new drug laws with mandatory sentences so if anything it's getting worse here.

As for Mexico, theres still police corruption so going down south to do drugs is really not a good idea.

[overgrowthegovt]

umm weed isn't legal here in canada at all, it's decriminalized. In Vancouver it's tolerated but still against the law.

don't know where you yankees get the message it's legal here. Yes we have lax laws but don't think people don't get arrested here. In fact the senate just passed new drug laws with mandatory sentences so if anything it's getting worse here.

As for Mexico, theres still police corruption so going down south to do drugs is really not a good idea.

It's not even officially decriminalized in Canada, I don't think. In practice, though, you'll very, very rarely get charged for a small amount of weed, except in Saskatchewan, the Canadian equivalent of the deep south. And yeah, now we have Harper pursuing his anti-drug agenda. Though weed is lax, any other drug isn't really.

But to the topic, I congratulate Mexico for its wise decision...it's very rare that a nation will approach drug use in a rational way. Good on them. And yes, this will prove a dilemma for U.S. drug rhetoricians.

[SocialDem]

Sounds like a good idea to me but then again how many of us are really qualified to say weather or not its a good idea. I'd like to see how this plays out. It might have positive affects and might even lead to something similar in the U$. You never know