The true question is: how will this impact the drug trade when the U.S. still outlaws these drugs and remains the biggest customer of the illegal drugs?There has to be a multi-pronged approach to this problem. Sending troops, locking up dealers just won’t solve it all. There has to be a more comprehensive approach that includes treatment and education. And then some.
By Julie Watson
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY – Mexico now has one of the world’s most liberal laws for drug users after eliminating jail time for small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and even heroin, LSD and methamphetamine.
“All right!” said a grinning Ivan Rojas, a rail-thin 20-year-old addict who endured police harassment during the decade he has spent sleeping in Mexico City’s gritty streets and subway stations.
But stunned police on the U.S. side of the border say the law contradicts President Felipe Calderon’s drug war, and some fear it could make Mexico a destination for drug-fueled spring breaks and tourism.