Strictly Street Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Mexico decriminalizes small-scale drug possessionBy MARK STEVENSON (AP) – 7 hours agoMEXICO CITY — Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday — a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers.Prosecutors said the new law sets clear limits that keep Mexico's corruption-prone police from extorting casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing domestic drug use in check."This is not legalization, this is regulating the issue and giving citizens greater legal certainty," said Bernardo Espino del Castillo of the attorney general's office.The new law sets out maximum "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities no longer face criminal prosecution.Espino del Castillo says, in practice, small users almost never did face charges anyway. Under the previous law, the possession of any amount of drugs was punishable by stiff jail sentences, but there was leeway for addicts caught with smaller amounts."We couldn't charge somebody who was in possession of a dose of a drug, there was no way ... because the person would claim they were an addict," he said.Despite the provisions, police sometimes hauled in suspects and demanded bribes, threatening long jail sentences if people did not pay.More here:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iP1GlMCOzYSi8kbAUY1lLDdqc4vAD9A763HO0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 If our gov't were smart, they would legalize certain drugs, and tax the hell out of em.Same with prositution, why not make money off it? Then our gov't would finally be PIMP, for once.I know there are two sides to the coin, so there obviously is disagreement to my opinion, but everyone has one, and is entitled to theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrillo Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 if you can't beat em... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 If our gov't were smart, they would legalize certain drugs, and tax the hell out of em.two problems with that. first of all, some drugs would be impossible to monopolize. anyone can grow pot in their back yard or basement. the second, and biggest IMO, problem, is that there is too much money invested in keeping the drugs ILLEGAL. all the people who get paid to make up lies about drugs for the government... all the people who have made careers out of putting people in jail for drugs. our prisons are filled with first time non violent drug offenders. PRIVATE prisons that make money off of these people being locked up. cops get money for their "task forces" and similar bullshit. they profit off of it being illegal... the drug test companies, who somehow have convinced the public that everyone needs to be drug tested for every single job out there, and even our our kids in school etc etc. those drug tests cost MONEY. they profit off of it. the pharmaceutical companies who make "marinol" (basically pot in a pill) would lose lots of money if it were legal... it goes on and on. these people are not going to be happy when you start fucking with their bread and butter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Pretty much right on the money. Congress apparently has vested interests in keeping the status quo. SNAFU It's even been alleged that members of congress are paid by drug cartels to keep it the way it is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jermattak Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 two problems with that. first of all, some drugs would be impossible to monopolize. anyone can grow pot in their back yard or basement. the second, and biggest IMO, problem, is that there is too much money invested in keeping the drugs ILLEGAL. all the people who get paid to make up lies about drugs for the government... all the people who have made careers out of putting people in jail for drugs. our prisons are filled with first time non violent drug offenders. PRIVATE prisons that make money off of these people being locked up. cops get money for their "task forces" and similar bullshit. they profit off of it being illegal... the drug test companies, who somehow have convinced the public that everyone needs to be drug tested for every single job out there, and even our our kids in school etc etc. those drug tests cost MONEY. they profit off of it. the pharmaceutical companies who make "marinol" (basically pot in a pill) would lose lots of money if it were legal... it goes on and on. these people are not going to be happy when you start fucking with their bread and butter.anyone can grow tobacco in their backyard, 20% of Americans use tobacco, and i dont know anyone who grows it. The prisons will still be just as full if we legalize marijuana, it will be filled with real criminals. And so what if drug test companies make money off of marijuana being illegal, yes jobs will be lost and money in that field, but think about the benefits of a plant that can replace dozens of addictive and harmful prescription medications. There are no negative effects on the body, unless you smoke it. Hemp makes a strong, cheap paper, and makes great plastic, as well as fuel (that can fuel cars, check out the first Model T) There are BILLIONS of dollars waiting to be made, and thousands of jobs would be created. BTW, no one in their right mind uses marinal, it only has 1 synthetic cannabinoid, and it is far more expensive than marijuana, and its a fact that marinal is not even half as effective as marijuana in AIDS/cancer patients. Weed would also discourage people from drinking and smoking cigarettes (IMO) 600,000 Americans die from smoking cigarettes, or alcohol related accidents and physical problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunatik3 Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 if you can't beat em... Roll joints with em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 anyone can grow tobacco in their backyard, 20% of Americans use tobacco, and i dont know anyone who grows it. this is true. but i think the difference is that the tobacco you smoke in a pack of marlboros is not just chopped up leaf off a plant, its processed to hell and back. you can make your own booze too, but again, its a process. with pot you can just grow it and smoke it. no processing necessary.The prisons will still be just as full if we legalize marijuana, it will be filled with real criminals. And so what if drug test companies make money off of marijuana being illegal, yes jobs will be lost and money in that field, but think about the benefits of a plant that can replace dozens of addictive and harmful prescription medications. just to be clear im not saying because drug test companies and private prisons would lose money we should keep it illegal. quite the opposite. i think it SHOULD be legal. my point here was that all the money invested in keeping it illegal is a serious roadblock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jermattak Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 this is true. but i think the difference is that the tobacco you smoke in a pack of marlboros is not just chopped up leaf off a plant, its processed to hell and back. you can make your own booze too, but again, its a process. with pot you can just grow it and smoke it. no processing necessary.just to be clear im not saying because drug test companies and private prisons would lose money we should keep it illegal. quite the opposite. i think it SHOULD be legal. my point here was that all the money invested in keeping it illegal is a serious roadblock. there isnt much of a process in making your own cigarrettes, actually its easier, just dry the leaves, and smoke it. its actually easier to grow tobacco than marijuana, and the yield of smokable substance is higher too, but noone seems to be doing it. But other than the big bucks the cartels are making off weed, i dont see much money being lost. drug test companies will still test for hard drugs, and as far as the task forces go, they dont wate their time on casual marijuana users, or even small time neighborhood dealers, they only go for HUGE amounts, and harder, more dangerous drugs.point being, i believe there will be some kind of change soon, whether it be the decrimilization of marijuana, or the legalization of MMJ. Some people are just scared of the word drug, when in fact everything is a drug, nicotine, alcohl, sex, even TV. Some people are just ill-imformed, and buy into the old "Reefer Madness" hysteria. When all those old people die out, we will surely have some kind of reform, but i still believe change is coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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