Chronicle AM: New Pew Pot Poll, UK MedMJ, Mexico Opium Talk, More... (10/8/18)

A new Pew poll shows continuing majority support for marijuana legalization, Mexico's president-elect talks legalizing opium production for the medical market, Texas's governor gets behind reducing pot penalties, and more.

Mexican President-Elect Andres Lopez Manuel Obrador is talking about legalizing opium production again. (Creative Commons)

New Pew Poll Has Continued Strong Support for Marijuana Legalization. More than six out of 10 Americans (62%) say marijuana should be legalized, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. That's largely unchanged from last year when the figure was 61%. Among Democrats, 69% support legalization; among independents, the figure is 75%, but only 45% of Republicans support it.

Texas Governor Proposes Lessening Possession Punishments. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced last Friday that he favors dropping the maximum penalty for marijuana possession from six months in jail to a fine and no jail time. Such a move would not be decriminalization, though, because possession would remain a misdemeanor, although a less serious one.

International

Ireland Should Decriminalize Drugs, Report Says. A new report from the Ana Liffey Project and the London School of Economics says treating people caught with small amounts of drugs as criminals is "counter-productive". Instead, the report says, such offenses should be decriminalized. "The evidence is pretty clear that decriminalization is the smarter way to deal with this issue, that you shouldn't be giving young people, or anyone for that matter, criminal records for possessing certain substances or consuming certain substances," said Dr. John Collins from the London School of Economics International Drug Policy Unit. "That, ultimately, is just an ineffective way and an ineffective use of police resources."

United Kingdom to Allow Medical Marijuana by Prescription Starting Next Month. Beginning next month, people in the UK will be able to obtain cannabis oil containing THC through prescriptions. The Home Office will reportedly announce the rescheduling of marijuana in parliament within the next two weeks, and patients will be able to obtain prescriptions within a matter of weeks after that.

Mexico President-Elect Says He Will Look at Legalizing Some Drugs. President-Elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday he would consider legalizing certain drugs as part of a broader strategy to fight crime and poverty. He also said he would consider paying farmers more for their corn as a means of reducing the planting of opium.

Mexico Defense Minister Says Legalizing Opium for Medical Use a "Way Out" of Violence. Defense Minister General Salvador Cienfuegos said last Friday that legalizing opium for medicinal use could help reduce violence among drug gangs fighting over control of poppy fields and trafficking routes in the country's southwest. Legalization "is already on the table. I think it can be a way out of the problem," Cienfuegos said when asked about violence in the state and proposals to regulate opium production.