The decriminalization of drug use in Mexico is bound to have unintended consequences. Beginning last Friday, possession of small amounts of drugs, including cocaine, heroine, LSD, marijuana and meth, is permitted. Such wholesale legalization is crude, but may prove beneficial to the Mexican economy.
Having up to four joints on you (the legal limit is five grams) isn’t going to have a societal impact. Prosecutions for possession were already non-existent in Mexico. Studies commissioned under the tenure of Gen. Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton’s “Drug Czar”, concluded that marijuana is not a “gateway” drug. It is widely believed not to be addictive, and it is not known to induce violent behavior.
If anything, this law will undercut corruption among local police, as they will no longer be able to hassle those with a joint in order to get a bribe. Marijuana is one thing, but should Mexico have legalized cocaine? Crystal meth? Heroine? LSD?
I for one don’t think so. Little good can come of legalizing such powerful and addictive drugs. Drug-related violence may well increase, even if cartel violence decreases, as the desperation of addiction grows in Mexico’s cities and towns.
Portugal decriminalized drug use in 2001 in order to focus on rehabilitation. Unlike Portugal, Mexico does not have the facilities to treat a potential surge in drug addiction. The cartels, for their part, will continue to target America as the destination of their product. So if low-level violence and/or addiction-related deaths increase in Mexico, poorly crafted legislation will be to blame.
However, the Mexican economy stands to benefit. Tourism, the nation’s third-largest source of revenue after oil and remittances, is reeling from recession in the US and H1N1. Mexico relies on American tourists coming to its shores for bouts of sun-laden escapism. Knowing they do not risk arrest, they might now stay an extra day or two, aiding Mexico’s bottom line.
This law may mark the beginning of a new trend in Latin America, historically the world’s most socially conservative region. On Tuesday, Argentina’s Supreme Court decriminalized possession of marijuana for personal use. Other nations may soon follow. The Catholic Church, a bulwark of Latin American society for centuries, is quietly retreating from the public sphere. As it does, legislatures and courts would do well to remember II Corinthians 3.6: “The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” Policy catching up to reality is one thing, but some drugs are illegal for good reason.
1 Comments So Far»
Dear Sean, Thank you very much for your article. I agree its a step in the right direction but it wont get the big fish! For that we in Mexico will have to produce legally the drugs and that way take out the profit from the drug traffickers. Kind Regards Bert
The consequences of legalizing drugs:
-we would have less people in the overcrowded prisons,
-our police and army woud be able to concentrate on other crimes
-prices would come down, at the moment prices are sky high, as the more risky the business the higher the price
-there would be no profit for the drug traffickers
-the drugs would be manufactured by reliable companies who would be responsible for the products they produce. This is of course not the case today as a dealer will disappear immediately as soon as they have made the sale of a product that has been diluted and adulterated with dubious chemicals.
We have to stop the businesses that sell machine guns to the drug traffickers, there are 12,000 all along the border with Mexico selling. The more profits the drug traffickers make the more advanced weaponry that can purchase and the more violent the battle becomes.
Problem is no one wants to do anything, they know what has to be done!
When alcohol was legalized we didnt become drunkards, instead the government got an income.
If the drugs arent legalized in the US they could go directly to the States ilegally and not through Mexico. If the shipment goes through Mexico it would be detained as it wasnt manufactered here.
This would show everyone that Mexico is ahead of the curve: the US and Colombia would have to legalize too and we would all win!
Tourists would come back again to the beautiful country, Mexico.
Other opinions
Drugs legal = less crime. Drugs legal = more police for dangerous crime. Drugs legal = addicts can be treated as humans and not animals or criminals. Drugs legal = tax benefits for the government (and possibly society). Drugs illegal = crime, misery, distrust and a lack of humanity.
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