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| Mexico President Seeks Review of Drug Law |
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Posted by CN Staff on May 03, 2006 at 22:53:15 PT By James C. McKinley Jr. and John Broder Source: New York Times 
Mexico City -- After intense pressure from the United States, President Vicente Fox has asked Congress to reconsider a law it passed last week that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as part of a larger effort to crack down on street-level dealing.In a statement issued late Wednesday, Mr. Fox said the law should be changed "to make it absolutely clear that in our country the possession of drugs and their consumption are and continue to be crimes." Officials from the State Department and the White House's drug control office met with the Mexican ambassador in Washington Monday and expressed grave reservations about the law, saying it would draw tourists to Mexico who want to take drugs and would lead to more consumption, said Tom Riley, a spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Later in the day, Mexico's chief of the Federal Police, Eduardo Medina Mora, tried to clarify the law's intent, saying its main purpose was to enlist help from the state and local police forces. Until now, selling drugs has been solely a federal offense, and the agents charged with investigating traffickers are stretched thin, he said. Mr. Medina Mora, the main architect of the first measure, which Mr. Fox sent to Congress in January, said it was true the law would make it a misdemeanor to possess small quantities of illegal drugs, but he added that people caught with those drugs would still have to go before a judge and would face a range of penalties. "Mexico is not, has not been and will not be a refuge for anyone who wants to consume drugs," Mr. Medina Mora said. The current law has a provision allowing people arrested on charges of possessing drugs to argue they are addicts and that the drugs were for personal use. The new law sets an upper limit on how much of each drug one could possess and still claim to be using it to support a habit, Mr. Medina Mora said, and stiffens penalties for people possessing larger amounts of drugs. But the law drew a firestorm of criticism from American officials on the border and among American drug enforcement officials in Mexico, who argue any move toward decriminalization would encourage drug tourism. Some municipal officials on the border have worried that cities like Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez would become the Mexican equivalent of Amsterdam, where marijuana is legal in some bars. Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego, a former police chief, called the bill "appallingly reckless and incredibly dangerous." Judith Bryan, a spokeswoman for the American Embassy here, said the officials in Washington had urged Mexico "to review the legislation and to avoid the perception that drug use would be tolerated in Mexico and to prevent drug tourism." It is unusual for American officials to try to influence internal Mexican legislation. Mr. Fox made it clear late Wednesday he would not sign the bill in its current form, but would send it back to Congress with proposed amendments. James C. McKinley Jr. reported from Mexico City for this article, and John Broder from Los Angeles. Complete Title: Under U.S. Pressure, Mexico President Seeks Review of Drug Law Source: New York Times (NY) Legalizing Drug Use in Mexico Called 'Reckless' Mexico's Fox To OK Drug Decriminalization Law Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #8 posted by FoM on May 04, 2006 at 08:04:05 PT |
| I don't like words like left or libertarian when I see a web site that uses either of those words because it seems like a political party. Liberal equals libertarian type thing. I like the word progressive. What is a progressive though? They described Neil Young as a Liberatarian Democrat in one of the radio reviews on NPR. What is a Libertarian Democrat? Oh politics how maddening they are to me. I would use the word liberal democrat and that I understand. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by FoM on May 04, 2006 at 07:58:18 PT |
| I really like Dr. Weil. I believe that everything we need can be found in nature. When a program on the sea comes on one of the Discovery Channels I am fascinated with how sophiscated the deep sea animals are. Some people like shows on space exploration but I don't. The ocean is way more fascinating to me. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by whig on May 04, 2006 at 07:52:01 PT |
| I was browsing some other blogs today and came across a comment that gave me pause to think. The right wing, and even moreso the prohibitionists, are incredibly marginal now, so few in number as to be barely significant. They exist only as a well-funded faction supported by the concentrated wealth and power of the industrial-media complex. The proof of this is that on the internet, where people choose their own sources of information, the left-libertarian viewpoints are far more numerous and well-subscribed, and prohibitionism is rarely seen even on the right. Where people are free to make choices is where we can see their true preferences. The mainstream media does not reflect such freedom, but the internet does. This, then, is the real world, not the distorted mirror which we are presented with that says otherwise. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on May 04, 2006 at 07:49:38 PT |
| The black market prices would fall in the US, more drugs would be used (if that is possible), and more people would be using more drugs (I doubt if that is possible, everybody uses drugs, legal or illegal). Anybody who wants to buy some illegal drugs in the United States will be able to buy them at anytime, regardless if Mexico legalizes small amounts or not. Drugs are more plentiful than gas is at Exxon/Mobil. When will the clueless, feckless, heartless, gutless, spineless, witless US government figure it out? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by dongenero on May 04, 2006 at 07:18:11 PT |
| From Dr. Weil's web site: This article is not about cannabis but speaks to those who downplay nature as a source of medicine..... Through the years, I have found that the phrase “nature’s wisdom” aggravates many conventional doctors. They seem unsettled at the idea that the natural world – which strikes them as a chaotic, undisciplined place – possesses any superiority over sophisticated technology, particularly in the area of creating medicines. But I am fascinated by the fact that, more and more, medical researchers are finding that nature can indeed create chemical wonders that no laboratory can come close to reproducing. A recent example comes from Indiana University, Bloomington, and Brown University researchers who are studying Caulobacter cresentus, a bacterium that lives in rivers, streams and tap water. This common, humble organism can attach itself to a glass pipette with a force equivalent to 70 newtons per square millimeter. This means that a spot of the Caulobacter’s “glue” the size of a quarter could lift the weight of four cars. By contrast, the best commercial superglues are only about one-third as strong. Even better the little creature’s glue works well on wet surfaces, leading bacteriologist Yves Brun to suggest that if large quantities could be produced, the substance could be a highly effective biodegradable surgical adhesive. I applaud the work of these researchers. It is humbling, but somehow thrilling, to realize that this minute, ubiquitous, harmless organism can make useful chemicals that no laboratory on earth can replicate. http://www.drweil.com/u/Page/Archive220/ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060411222211.htm [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by Toker00 on May 04, 2006 at 04:03:03 PT |
| The soul of Prohibition is indeed infested. Infested with influence from ALL the CEOs and their EXECUT(ERS)IVES Pushing Legal DRUUUUUGS. The body of Prohibition is rolling and swarming inside with mature Maggots of Profit (DEA). You can see them move under the skin, like the bugs in "Mummy". The Soul of Prohibition is being devoured by these maggots. The soul of Prohibition is pure poison. These maggots themselves will surely die from this poison. They have spent all these billions to keep the Truth at bay, yet will die from that which they seek so foolishly. Their fate is sealed. Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by Dan B on May 04, 2006 at 01:59:40 PT |
| "Mexico is not, has not been and will not be a refuge for anyone who wants to consume drugs," Mr. Medina Mora said. Okay, so I guess that leaves the United States as the biggest refuge for those who want to consume drugs . . . provided that those drugs are sold for a profit by our legal drug cartels, such as big pharm, big tobacco, and big alcohol. American hypocrisy has grown increasingly ripe over the past five and a half years, but it has been stinking up the world for a lot longer than that. That stench that the palace guard from Hamlet smelled coming from Denmark is nothing compared to the rancid odor emanating from our political and law enforcement officials' bloated, maggot-infested souls. Dan B [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by MaRkAyNe on May 03, 2006 at 23:39:18 PT |
| Mr. Fox. He has a big job to decide what to make legal in his country with all the pressure from the U.S. Hopefully he is thinking about peoples rights, not using it as immigration leverage. [ Post Comment ] |
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