US Drug Czar Backs Mexico Plan To Legalize Drugs

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

US Drug Czar Backs Mexico Plan To Legalize Drugs

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE - PLUS BUSH CLINTON CIA MAFIA IS THE BIGGEST DRUG CARTEL IN THE WORLD


Mexico drug war deaths soar


Aaron Houston, Director of Government Relations at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), questions John Walters on whether prior marijuana use should disqualify an individual for public office at the ONDCP's press conference for the release of the 2007 National Survey on Druge Use and Health



October 14, 2008 - As the Violence Soars, Mexico Signals It's Had E...

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Hell Freezes Over: White House Drug Czar Backs Decriminalization
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NewsLine
October 27, 2008

http://www. newsli. com/2008/10/27/hell-freezes-over-white-house-dr...

John Walters Backs a Mexican Proposal Far More Sweeping Than U.
S Measures He Has Opposed

(Washington, D.C.
) The Marijuana Policy Project today congratulated White House “drug czar” John Walters for backing a Mexican government proposal that would remove criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana

“I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but John Walters is right,” said MPP executive director Rob Kampia. “We heartily second his support for eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana users in Mexico, and look forward to working with him to end such penalties in the U.S.
as well”

On Oct. 22, The New York Times reported Walters’ public support for a drug decriminalization proposal by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, quoting Walters as saying, “I don’t think that’s legalization.” Under Calderon’s proposal, individuals caught with small quantities of marijuana would receive no jail sentence or fine and would not receive a criminal record so long as they complete either drug education or, if addicted, drug treatment.
Unlike proposals supported by MPP, the Mexican president’s proposal would also decriminalize possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine

“It’s fantastic that John Walters has recognized the massive destruction the drug war has inflicted on Mexico and is now calling for reforms there, but he’s a rank hypocrite if he continues opposing similar reforms in the U.S.,” Kampia said.
“The Mexican proposal is far more sweeping than MPP’s proposals to decriminalize marijuana or make marijuana medically available, both of which John Walters and his henchmen rail against”

In a March 19, 2008, press release from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, deputy director Scott Burns called a New Hampshire proposal to impose a $200 fine rather than jail time for a small amount of marijuana “a dangerous first step toward complete drug legalization”

With more than 25,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States.
MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol For more information, please visit http://www. MarijuanaPolicy. org


Soldiers ride on pickup trucks as they patrol the streets of Morelia on September 17 after deadly attacks on independence day celebrations sparked fears that civilians are now targets in the country's drug wars

Mexico's President Calderon has few choices in drug war October 1, ...


Plan Mexico threatens peaceful Mexican communities

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Mexico seeks to legalize smalltime pot, cocaine use
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02 Oct 2008
Reuters

MEXICO CITY, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a high-stakes battle with drug cartels, wants to legalize the possession of small amounts of cocaine and marijuana, a plan that will likely irk Washington

Calderon, a conservative in power for nearly two years, sent a proposal to Congress that would also scrap penalties on carrying small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine and opium for personal use

Reviving a similar push by his predecessor, Calderon's bill aims to free up police to hunt for narcotics dealers and smugglers, but it could meet opposition in largely conservative Mexico as well as in the neighboring United States

"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

Former president Vicente Fox tried to pass a similar bill in 2006 but ditched it after Washington objected and critics both sides of the border said laxer laws could lure "drug tourists" from north of the border

Calderon's bill would mean 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 not face criminal charges

It would also give Mexican states the power to try drug dealers in local courts, rather than at a federal level

Drug use is much less common among young people in Mexico than in the United States or Europe, but consumption is creeping up with the growth of the middle class and as tighter border controls mean more cocaine is kept back in the country

Calderon has deployed thousands of troops to clamp down on the drug gangs that shuttle Colombian cocaine up and over Mexico's northern border

But cartel violence has soared as a result, killing some 3,000 people this year, including eight that died in a grenade attack, the first major strike on the public by drug hitmen (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez)