Mexican Senate Votes to Decriminalize Drug Possession
Good news from Mexico:
MEXICO CITY, April 28 (Reuters) - Mexico's Senate approved a bill on Tuesday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of narcotics for personal use, in order to free resources to fight violent drug cartels.The bill, proposed by conservative President Felipe Calderon, would make it legal to carry up to 5 grams (0.18 ounces) of marijuana, 500 milligrams (0.018 ounces) of cocaine and tiny quantities of other drugs such as heroin and methamphetamines.
Mexico's Congress passed a similar proposal in 2006 but the bill was vetoed by Calderon's predecessor Vicente Fox, under pressure from the United States, which said it would increase drug abuse, but now is worried by the drug-related violence along its border. [Reuters]
These are pathetically small amounts of drugs, but seeing any type of drug policy reform happening in Mexico is a positive development. When decriminalizing drug possession to help focus on the cartels doesn't work, maybe we can finally start talking about legalizing drugs to de-fund and destroy the cartels entirely.
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redditSilence is acceptance, the KKK reasoning
Comment posted by aahpat on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 8:24amWhen there is little or no opposition to a KKk activity in a community the Klan tells people that this is because most people support them. Silence is taken as a sign of support. I believe that this reasoning is totally baseless.
I think that applying the same reasoning to explain Obama's drug war positions is both counter-productive and just as baseless as the Klan's reasoning. And you have to ignore and deny clear assertions from Obama about escalating the drug war in order to make your position.
Dallas Morning News March 15, 2009
hmm...
Comment posted by glenstark on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 5:29amI have mixed feelings about this. I think it's good news for consumers, but I can also see that it would just strengthen the position of the drug cartels. The amounts they legalized don't make it practical for people to grow their own marijuana, so if want to get a legal amount, you're pretty much stuck buying it. It will also make it harder to enforce anti-dealer laws.
What concerns me is that the end effect could be stronger, more powerful cartels. If this happens, that would be a propaganda coup for the prohibitionists who could then say "look, mexico tried decriminalization, and it blew up in their face". The prohibitionists rely on very dishonest, simplistic arguments, and often do so very successfully.
Well, we'll have to see how it plays out. The other possibility is that this the first little push needed to get the ball rolling, and the movement will gain momentum.
All good points
Comment posted by aahpat on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 8:35amGlen.
I think this has something to do with Calderon's flagging support in upcoming legislative elections as well.
And there is the tacit admission by Calderon that he is running out of military resources to fight the drug war and needs to do this to ease the stress on the system.
If indeed Calderon is already over-extended so much that he needs to decriminalize possession to free up police and military for the war then he is in big trouble. The Swine flu then could be the straw that breaks his back.
Third world countries traditionally use their military to control any contagion outbreaks. Calderon has no military to do this since they are bottled up on the border. I think the drug war is proving itself a major inconvenience and public health disaster for Mexico.
Even if
Comment posted by aahpat on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 8:31pmThat is the goal of Calderon it does not need to be the end that a strong reform effort can divert it to. I hope that some planning sessions can take place down there that can co-opt the initiative away from the prohibs and whatever their strategy is for proposing this.
Remember, reform politicians have been trying to get something like this through for years. I would hope that the reformers have a lot of the permutations thought out years ago.
There is but
Comment posted by aahpat on Fri, 05/01/2009 - 9:00ampolice don't generally enforce against it. State tax bureaus have the policing power and they do not have the enforcement capacity to do anything.
When New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg first took office he bragged at giving the city the highest cigarette tax in the nation. Some five weeks after his announcement a truck load of cigarettes driven by Palestinian Hamas sympathizers was busted heading north from North Carolina. they were destined for New York City to get money for the Palestinian cause.
Above a certain price level black markets naturally grow to respond to market demand. This is true for any product.
Your right...Its process
Comment posted by aahpat on Fri, 05/01/2009 - 8:55amYour right to be concerned about the high tax potential for keeping the black markets in place. But legislation is a process. No legislation ends up precisely as it is proposed. In hearings it gets changed. The important thing now is to get the legislation into the committee hearings and then make sure that reform arguments about prohibition economics are heard by the legislators who are deliberating the legislation.
another brick
Comment posted by aahpat on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 12:36amin the wall is crumbling.
If Calderon is so much on the political spot that he has to decriminalize possession to retain public support he is in trouble. And let's not forget that the legislature still needs to move his proposal. I would bet it gets modified along the way. (If Mexican legislative process allows for that.)
The elections in Mexico this summer should be a real cliffhanger for those who support the drug war.
Unlike ever before I have an impression that the drug war is going down in flames. Everybody, get out your fans.