Mexico legalizing drugs

The use of psychoactive substances in Mexico is not a crime, but possession of a drug for the purpose of using it is classified as a crime. However, detention is not punishable by imprisonment if it does not exceed the limit set out in the table of guidelines (see below) and if the person does not transport drugs to the places provided for in article 475 of the General Health Code (schools, prisons, etc.). As long as there is U.S. demand for marijuana, Mexican producers will find profits on delivery. If states continue to legalize, traffickers` profit margins could continue to decline. Yet proponents of decriminalizing or even legalizing drugs have mostly focused on the world`s largest drug importers, often neglecting the countries responsible for drug production and trafficking to meet rich country demand. López Obrador has also largely continued the war on drugs of his predecessors. In 2006, former Mexican President Felipe Calderón used the military to crack down on drug trafficking. Unbridled violence followed as soldiers battled the cartels and increasingly perceived every citizen – including drug users – as a threat. Marijuana and heroin are just two drugs.

Stroll down the beach in Puerto Vallarta, a tourist town and you`ll find vendors selling a number of illegal drugs. (Whether they are as advertised is another question.) The latest trend has only refined calls for legalization and a system that could employ farmers, reduce a flood of cheap drugs and help those struggling with addiction, rather than lock them up. Perhaps the greatest effect of marijuana legalization in Mexico will be the reform of the national criminal justice system. In this regard, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has many reasons to push for reform. According to a recent study, more than 40% of inmates in Mexico are serving prison sentences for drug possession valued at less than $25. Legalizing marijuana could reduce Mexico`s problem of prison overcrowding — the country has been overwhelmed by up to 17,000 inmates in recent years — and reduce the number of nonviolent offenders who come into contact with criminal organizations that conduct robust operations despite being incarcerated. As president, he presented a five-year plan calling for a “new paradigm” in the justice system. It was a realization that neither the police nor the military could eliminate the demand for drugs in Mexico itself, let alone in customer markets like the United States – and as long as there was demand, supply would follow. Proponents of drug reform hailed AMLO as a leader. The legislation currently under consideration would legalize marijuana throughout the supply chain — from planting and harvesting to consumption.

Nevertheless, the law would not give small and medium-sized producers the advantage over companies – let alone the ability to compete with the cartels` proven ability to supply medicines to domestic and international markets. There are also serious questions about Mexico`s ability to uphold the rule of law and regulate such a market. The vulnerability of the Mexican government to institutional corruption is an ongoing problem. He already owns a variety of stores in Mexico catering to an audience that demands cannabis products, and seems a bit impatient with Mexico`s delay in officially legalizing marijuana so that the industry can actually be regulated. So far, the Supreme Court has simply said that marijuana prohibition is unconstitutional, but we still lack laws telling us who can produce it, sell it, how to tax it, etc. On March 10, 2021, the Chamber of Deputies passed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, which is expected to be submitted to the Senate by April 30, 2021. If the law had been approved, it would have been submitted to the President of Mexico for promulgation. [2] On August 21, 2009, Mexico decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis and other drugs to reduce illicit drug activity. Maximum amounts have been set that can be considered “personal use”. Under the new law, anyone caught in possession of up to five grams of cannabis will be asked to go to a rehab center instead of being arrested or fined. [14] President Felipe Calderon said the amendment would allow law enforcement to focus on heavy traffickers rather than underage consumers. In practice, minor drug possession has already been largely tolerated by the police.

[15] Over time, the influence of the temperance movement, combined with anti-Chinese racism, led to a Western crackdown on opium that laid the groundwork for much of the modern war on drugs. As noted in the study La política de drogas en México: una trajedia nacional, despite the decriminalization of drug use in Mexico, users are often treated as criminals rather than as subjects of public health policy. People who use drugs are victims of indiscriminate violence such as torture, illegal detention and detention, according to the report. Once in prison, conditions are very precarious and prisoners often do not have access to basic rights; They are vulnerable to HIV if they share needles, unprotected sex and rape.