Mexico City, Mexico: Mexican lawmakers engaged in a three-day debate this week regarding whether to legalize the personal possession of marijuana. The debate concluded just prior to the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama, who is visiting Mexico this week to discuss ways to stem the rising violence associated with the trafficking of illicit substances by drug cartels.
According to the Associated Press, marijuana is the “biggest source of income” for Mexican drug gangs.
Last month, Obama stated publicly that he did not support regulating cannabis.
In 2006, Mexican lawmakers approved legislation to decriminalize minor drug possession offenses – effectively eliminating criminal penalties for the possession of small quantities of cannabis and other controlled substances. However, then-President Vincente Fox rejected the measure after receiving complaints from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Department, which warned that the policy could promote “drug tourism.”
Speaking this past Sunday on CBS’s Face The Nation, Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan said that legalizing marijuana might mitigate drug-related violence.
“This is a debate that needs to be taken seriously – that we have to engage in on both sides of the border,” he said. “It is a debate that has to be taken on with seriousness.”
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director or Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.