Local authorities: Mexico drug decriminalization sends wrong message

A new Mexican law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin sends the wrong message to a country caught in a grueling drug war, local law enforcement officials said Friday.

Proponents of the law say that, in practice, small-time users almost never faced 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.

Local authorities argue drugs should be completely eradicated from the hands of drug dealers and users alike — no matter the quantity.

The new law sets out maximum “personal use” amounts for otherwise illicit drugs, including LSD and methamphetamine. People found to possess quantities within the designated ranges no longer face criminal prosecution.

“Those small amounts come from big amounts,” said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño. “It’s street-level use … that is destroying society.”

Local authorities also say the law encourages youth to consume drugs, develop addictions and commit other, more serious crimes.

“You’re inviting the younger generation to use drugs,” said San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez. “People get violent when they’re on drugs. … There’s nothing positive about it.”

Mexican prosecutors say the move 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. Even though there was some flexibility in the enforcement of the previous law, police sometimes hauled in suspects and demanded bribes, threatening long jail sentences if people did not pay.

Treviño argues that law enforcement agencies need to weed out bad apples instead of “removing temptation” from them.

“Policemen don’t become crooks,” the sheriff said. “Crooks become policemen.”

Local officials doubt the new law will have any discernible impact on the Rio Grande Valley.

Anyone caught with drug amounts under the new personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and treatment is mandatory for those caught a third time.

The maximum amount of marijuana for personal use under the new law is 5 grams — the equivalent of about four joints. The limit for cocaine is a half-gram, the equivalent of about four lines. For other drugs, the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams of methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams of LSD.

So far, it is unclear what the impact will be on Americans traveling to Mexico. The law does not exclude foreigners explicitly, and, Mexican laws generally apply to foreigners while they are in the country. According to the law, a consumer is defined as “any person who consumes or uses psychotropics or narcotics.”

Mexican officials said the legal changes could help the government focus more on big-time traffickers.

Bernardo Espino del Castillo of the Mexican attorney general’s office said that since President Felipe Calderón took office in late 2006, there have been over 15,000 police searches related to small-scale drug dealing or possession, with 95,000 people detained. Of those detainees, only 12-15 percent were ever charged with anything.

In 2006, the U.S. government publicly criticized a similar measure that was under consideration. Then-President Vicente Fox sent that legislation back to the Mexican Congress for reconsideration.

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Brownsville Herald reporter Laura Tillman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.