Mexico drug bill a lure to go south?
Mexico drug bill a lure to go south?
Copyright by The Associated Press
April 30, 2006
BY MARK STEVENSON
MEXICO CITY -- Mexicans would be allowed to possess small amounts of cocaine, heroin, even ecstasy for their personal use under a bill approved by lawmakers that some worry could prove to be a lure to young Americans.
The bill only needs President Vicente Fox's signature to become law, and that does not appear to be an obstacle. His office said decriminalizing drugs will free up police to focus on major dealers.
"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.
The Senate approved the bill Friday in the final hours of its closing session. Mexico's lower house had endorsed the legislation.
The measure appeared to surprise U.S. officials. State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus said the department was trying to get more information about it. One U.S. diplomat, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said "we're still studying the legislation, but any effort to decriminalize illegal drugs would not be helpful."
Some worried the law would increase drug addiction in Mexico and cause problems with the United States. Millions of American youths visit Mexico's beach resorts and border towns each year.
Trafficking still illegal
"A lot of Americans already come here to buy medications they can't get up there. ... Just imagine, with heroin," said Ulisis Bon, a drug treatment expert in Tijuana, where heroin use is rampant.
In off-the-record talks and through their communications with U.S. officials, Mexican officials tried to depict the drug bill as a clarification of existing laws. But the changes are clear.
Currently, Mexican law leaves open the possibility of dropping charges against people caught with drugs if they can prove they are drug addicts and if an expert certifies they were caught with "the quantity necessary for personal use."
The new bill drops the "addict" requirement, allows "consumers" to have drugs, and sets out specific allowable quantities, which do not appear in the current law.
However, the bill stiffens penalties for trafficking and possession of drugs -- even small quantities -- by government employees or near schools, and maintains criminal penalties for drug sales.
WHAT WOULD BE ALLOWED
Here is a partial list of maximum allowable drug quantities approved by Mexico's Congress for personal use:
Marijuana 5 grams, about 4 joints
Heroin, 25 milligrams
Opium (raw) 5 grams
Cocaine 500 milligrams, about 4 lines
LSD .015 milligrams
MDMA (ecstasy) 200 milligrams
Peyote: 1 kilogram
Methamphetamines: 200 milligrams
Copyright by The Associated Press
April 30, 2006
BY MARK STEVENSON
MEXICO CITY -- Mexicans would be allowed to possess small amounts of cocaine, heroin, even ecstasy for their personal use under a bill approved by lawmakers that some worry could prove to be a lure to young Americans.
The bill only needs President Vicente Fox's signature to become law, and that does not appear to be an obstacle. His office said decriminalizing drugs will free up police to focus on major dealers.
"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.
The Senate approved the bill Friday in the final hours of its closing session. Mexico's lower house had endorsed the legislation.
The measure appeared to surprise U.S. officials. State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus said the department was trying to get more information about it. One U.S. diplomat, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said "we're still studying the legislation, but any effort to decriminalize illegal drugs would not be helpful."
Some worried the law would increase drug addiction in Mexico and cause problems with the United States. Millions of American youths visit Mexico's beach resorts and border towns each year.
Trafficking still illegal
"A lot of Americans already come here to buy medications they can't get up there. ... Just imagine, with heroin," said Ulisis Bon, a drug treatment expert in Tijuana, where heroin use is rampant.
In off-the-record talks and through their communications with U.S. officials, Mexican officials tried to depict the drug bill as a clarification of existing laws. But the changes are clear.
Currently, Mexican law leaves open the possibility of dropping charges against people caught with drugs if they can prove they are drug addicts and if an expert certifies they were caught with "the quantity necessary for personal use."
The new bill drops the "addict" requirement, allows "consumers" to have drugs, and sets out specific allowable quantities, which do not appear in the current law.
However, the bill stiffens penalties for trafficking and possession of drugs -- even small quantities -- by government employees or near schools, and maintains criminal penalties for drug sales.
WHAT WOULD BE ALLOWED
Here is a partial list of maximum allowable drug quantities approved by Mexico's Congress for personal use:
Marijuana 5 grams, about 4 joints
Heroin, 25 milligrams
Opium (raw) 5 grams
Cocaine 500 milligrams, about 4 lines
LSD .015 milligrams
MDMA (ecstasy) 200 milligrams
Peyote: 1 kilogram
Methamphetamines: 200 milligrams
posted by Carlos T Mock at 10:40 AM
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