Welcome news on the drug front.
President Calderón has decided to ask the Mexican Congress to legalize the possession of small amounts of of drugs. The proposal is very similar to the one that the American government persuaded President Fox to withdraw in 2006.
If passed, possession of up to 2 grams of marijuana or opium, half a gram of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin or 40 milligrams of methamphetamine would be legal. And the person possessing would be directed toward drug rehabilitation. The proposal would also allow drug dealers to be tried in state, rather than federal, courts. (That last sentence may not be as good as it first sounds.)
It is not much, but it is a start. Undoubtedly, the grenade attack in Morelia has convinced some Mexican leaders to take a different approach in undercutting the drug lords.
There are actually two prongs to the drug lord issue. The drugs that travel through Mexico, and the drugs that end up in Mexico in the noses, lungs, and arms of Mexican citizens.
It is the latter category that President Calderón is trying to address. Now that Mexican citizens have become wealthier, they no longer need to be envious of American youth. They can have their own indigenous drug problem. The government hopes that by legalizing small amounts, the drug lords may be undercut in their prices.
It probably will not work. But it is worth a try. And President Calderón should be talking to Senator Obama (I am assuming he will win the presidency) about doing the same thing in America -- persuading the states (or some of the states) to try legalization as a method to undercut the drug lord's hold on drug distribution.
Now, I know that last step is not going to happen. In fact, I am willing to bet that a Democrat Congress will put enormous pressure on President Calderón to withdraw his proposal. The Democrats cannot afford to look like anything less than the Daddy party on the drug issue. Not now.
But I wish the brave Mexican president my best in accomplishing at least this first step. He has been reading his Sun Tzu.
President Calderón has decided to ask the Mexican Congress to legalize the possession of small amounts of of drugs. The proposal is very similar to the one that the American government persuaded President Fox to withdraw in 2006.
If passed, possession of up to 2 grams of marijuana or opium, half a gram of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin or 40 milligrams of methamphetamine would be legal. And the person possessing would be directed toward drug rehabilitation. The proposal would also allow drug dealers to be tried in state, rather than federal, courts. (That last sentence may not be as good as it first sounds.)
It is not much, but it is a start. Undoubtedly, the grenade attack in Morelia has convinced some Mexican leaders to take a different approach in undercutting the drug lords.
There are actually two prongs to the drug lord issue. The drugs that travel through Mexico, and the drugs that end up in Mexico in the noses, lungs, and arms of Mexican citizens.
It is the latter category that President Calderón is trying to address. Now that Mexican citizens have become wealthier, they no longer need to be envious of American youth. They can have their own indigenous drug problem. The government hopes that by legalizing small amounts, the drug lords may be undercut in their prices.
It probably will not work. But it is worth a try. And President Calderón should be talking to Senator Obama (I am assuming he will win the presidency) about doing the same thing in America -- persuading the states (or some of the states) to try legalization as a method to undercut the drug lord's hold on drug distribution.
Now, I know that last step is not going to happen. In fact, I am willing to bet that a Democrat Congress will put enormous pressure on President Calderón to withdraw his proposal. The Democrats cannot afford to look like anything less than the Daddy party on the drug issue. Not now.
But I wish the brave Mexican president my best in accomplishing at least this first step. He has been reading his Sun Tzu.
