Portal
Home
Calendar
Gallery
FAQ
Search
Register
Log inMexico seeks to decriminalize small-time drug use
Page 1 of 1•
Mexico seeks to decriminalize small-time drug use
by Outspoken on Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:17 pm
Mexico seeks to decriminalize small-time drug use
By Miguel Angel Gutierrez
Reuters News Service
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a bloody battle with drug cartels, wants to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs in a plan likely to irk Washington.
Calderon, a conservative in power nearly two years, sent a proposal to Congress on Thursday that would scrap the penalties for drugs including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, opium and marijuana.
"What we are seeking is to not treat an addict as a criminal, but rather as a sick person and give them psychological and medical treatment," said Sen. Alejandro Gonzalez, head of the Senate's justice committee.
Under Calderon's plan, people carrying up to 2 grams (0.07 ounces) of marijuana or opium, half a gram of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin or 40 milligrams of methamphetamine would face no criminal charges.
It would also give Mexican states the power to try drug dealers in local courts instead of at the federal level.
Reviving a similar effort by his predecessor, Calderon aims to free up police to hunt for dealers and smugglers. But the plan could run into opposition in largely conservative Mexico as well as in the United States.
In a separate proposal, the president asked the Senate to shake up Mexico's notoriously inept and often corrupt police.
Calderon said poor training and a lack of coordination between forces are hindering efforts to rein in rampant drug violence and organized crime.
"They are at the limit in terms of not sharing intelligence in crime fighting, something which eventually means a lack of organization in the state's capacity to deal with the crime phenomenon," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081002/wl_nm/us_mexico_drugs;_ylt=AsKPfdm5Y3ZdrpjNbjXA0XWs0NUE
By Miguel Angel Gutierrez
Reuters News Service
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a bloody battle with drug cartels, wants to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs in a plan likely to irk Washington.
Calderon, a conservative in power nearly two years, sent a proposal to Congress on Thursday that would scrap the penalties for drugs including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, opium and marijuana.
"What we are seeking is to not treat an addict as a criminal, but rather as a sick person and give them psychological and medical treatment," said Sen. Alejandro Gonzalez, head of the Senate's justice committee.
Under Calderon's plan, people carrying up to 2 grams (0.07 ounces) of marijuana or opium, half a gram of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin or 40 milligrams of methamphetamine would face no criminal charges.
It would also give Mexican states the power to try drug dealers in local courts instead of at the federal level.
Reviving a similar effort by his predecessor, Calderon aims to free up police to hunt for dealers and smugglers. But the plan could run into opposition in largely conservative Mexico as well as in the United States.
In a separate proposal, the president asked the Senate to shake up Mexico's notoriously inept and often corrupt police.
Calderon said poor training and a lack of coordination between forces are hindering efforts to rein in rampant drug violence and organized crime.
"They are at the limit in terms of not sharing intelligence in crime fighting, something which eventually means a lack of organization in the state's capacity to deal with the crime phenomenon," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081002/wl_nm/us_mexico_drugs;_ylt=AsKPfdm5Y3ZdrpjNbjXA0XWs0NUE
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
