Mexico Legalizing Some Drugs
Saturday April 29, 2006
Mexico's senate has passed a bill decriminalizing the carrying of small amounts of currently illegal drugs for personal use by Mexicans, as well as mandating drug treatment for problem drug users. The bill makes possession of 25 milligrams of heroin, a fifth of an ounce of marijuana, five grams of opium, 2.2 pounds of peyote, two ecstasy pills or half a gram of cocaine legal.
Mexican senator Jorge Zermino, bill sponsor, is quoted as saying of Mexico's drug traffic, "We cannot close our eyes, nor fill our jails with addicts." It's expected that the law will enable Mexico police to focus efforts on rounding up big fish drug dealers rather than arresting recreational users. Mexico has long been a place of legal horror story legend for student travelers; tales of small-time dope-possessing backpackers lounging in Mexican jails for life used to be common on the adventure travel trail, but stories have decreased in recent years.
Take note, travelers -- should Mexico President Vincente Fox sign the bill into law as he is expected to do, it will not mean open drug season in Mexico; expect to continue exercising normal care when traveling and avoid illegal drugs anywhere, as always. Currently, Mexicans may be able to beat drug raps by proving addiction, but there will never be an excuse for traveling Norte Americanos to be busted with drugs in Mexico.
Mexico travel resources:
AP news reports were used to compile this story.
Comments
This is going to be a real problem in cities on the border. i live in san diego and being abel to buy drugs in mexico will mean drug losers will come here by the thosuands.
losers yeh but remembr when pot was legal in alaska it wasnt some terrible thing for locals
yea very soon the United States will be a military state. and we will have no rights. We are restricted from doing legal drugs in Mexico. has communism written all over it. Who is are government to say what we can or cannot do in another country. shits gonna hit the fan very soon.
viva la mexico!
Hard grugs kills – it’s the fact! legalize it always bad idea.
yea its a bad idea that you legalizing drugs but look at amsterdam! they aint dying. theyre actually skinny and healthy and there smoking pot.lol.. so i dont mind.. plus i love weed!
I’m soooo wasted!
now I’ll be able to enjoy the donkey show guilt-free!
Philipe Calderon is the president of Mexico. When Vicente Fox was president (a couple of years ago) he vetoed this bill. Calderon is expected to sign the bill. A very brave move on his part, considering the drug barons are more powerful than God and if they want you dead, you are a dead man walking. These are the real criminals and dangers to society, and they are absolutely thriving in the “War on Drugs”. ahem.
The United States should be ashamed not to have made this move first. The time has come that people no longer have the will to put people in prison for simple drug use. Now the Law Inforcement, Criminal Justice and Prison systems can go back to solving society´s problems rather than initiating them
Horror stories of American college kids being extorted or sent to Mexican prisons to die will finally diminish. Petty drug users have been persecuted in Mexico for years. Hopefully that chapter has ended. The police will now do more useful work.
Mexico = Paradise or Hell.
Legalizing all prohibited drugs will give you freedom of choice. The idea is eliminate the drug cartels, the question is who is going to be in charge of distribution and sales. It looks like is going to open the opportunity to set un “cafes” that might have distribuiting rights for now is not legal to sell or buy just the freedom to use.
The turism will inject inmesurable amounts of money.