The federal legislature of Mexico has passed a bill to legalize “small amounts of cocaine, heroin, even ecstasy” for personal use. President Vicente Fox’s signature is expected to be forthcoming since his office has voiced support for the measure.
Currently, Mexican law leaves open the possibility of dropping charges against people caught with drugs if they can prove they are drug addicts and if an expert certifies they were caught with “the quantity necessary for personal use.”
The new bill drops the “addict” requirement, allows “consumers” to have drugs, and sets out specific allowable quantities, which do not appear in the current law.
Specifically, the new law would allow a person to carry the following:
- - Marijuana (5 gms),
- – Heroin (25 mgms),
- - Cocaine (0.5 gm),
- - Peyote (2.2 lbs), and – An array of other drugs, including:
- - Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA),
- - Methylenedioxymethamphetamine/Ecstasy (MDMA),
- – Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), and
- - Amphetamines.