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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Mexico Favors Decriminalizing Over Legalizing Marijuana
Hispanically Speaking News Thursday 08 Aug 2013 “It’s important to make it clear that decriminalizing is not the same as legalizing: decriminalizing implies a benefit for the consumer, for the addict, not for the supplier, for the trafficker,” Roberto Campa, deputy secretary for Prevention and Citizen Participation, said Tuesday at a press conference. U.S. states that have decriminalized cannabis typically impose civil fines or mandatory drug education or drug treatment for possession, as opposed to incarcerating or filing criminal charges against users. On the other hand, he added, “legalizing implies a decision to completely resolve the problem throughout the supply chain.” Campa said a debate on the legalization of marijuana in Mexico must take into account the levels of consumption because “many people could be affected” by such a step. “In Mexico, consumption levels remain relatively low. The danger of a legalization scheme in societies with low levels of consumption is that consumption will increase; it’s a very serious issue that must be analyzed very deeply.” After an appearance before a bicameral congressional committee on national security, Campa said the federal government has stressed the need for the issue to be addressed at the international level. Amid a growing debate in Mexico on the potential legalization of the consumption and sale of marijuana, he said the country had opted for a decriminalization model because “it’s been shown that legalizing marijuana does not ensure a reduction in violence.” For his part, the speaker of Mexico’s lower house, Francisco Arroyo Vieyra, noted that several U.S. states have legalized marijuana to varying degrees and that “it would be stupid for us as a country not to address the topic, to criminalize it, fill our prisons with cannabis dealers whose goal is to take to a place where it’s legal.” “The only thing you get with extreme prohibition is violence which, in (Mexico’s) case, has already left tens of thousands dead,” the legislator with the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, said, referring to widespread drug-gang mayhem in recent years. A recent survey by the Gabinete de Comunicacion Estrategica polling firm showed that 49.6 percent of Mexicans oppose marijuana legalization, while just 13.4 percent would favor such a measure. In the survey, whose results were released Tuesday, 59 percent of respondents said decriminalizing marijuana would be harmful to the country and 29.9 percent said it would be beneficial. Several public figures, including former President Vicente Fox and erstwhile Cabinet secretaries, are calling for a serious debate on marijuana decriminalization, saying it would help stem violence in the country by reducing the profits of criminal organizations. Possession of up to five grams of marijuana for personal consumption is already legal in Mexico. http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/latino-daily-news/details/mexico-favors-decriminalizing-over-legalizing-marijuana/26335/
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