Mexico's decriminalization of drugs - a first blow to the illicit drug industry.

MEXICO TAKES A COURAGEOUS STEP TOWARDS INTERNAL SECURITY

In what appears to be an extremely canny move by the Mexican Government, it stands on the cusp of decriminalizing the personal possession of narcotics, as reported by Reuters:

Possessing marijuana, cocaine and even heroin will no longer be a crime in Mexico if they are in small amounts for personal use under new reforms passed by Congress that quickly drew U.S. criticism.

The measure given final passage 53-26 by senators in a late night session on Thursday is aimed at letting police focus on their battle against major drug dealers, and President Vicente Fox is expected to sign it into law.

"This law provides more judicial tools for authorities to fight crime," presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said on Friday.

He said the reforms, which were proposed by the government and approved earlier this week by the lower house of Congress, made laws against major traffickers "more severe."

The legislation came as a shock to Washington, which counts on Mexico's support in its war against drug smuggling gangs who move massive quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines through Mexico to U.S. consumers.

"I would say any law that decriminalizes dangerous drugs is not very helpful," said Judith Bryan, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. "Drugs are dangerous. We don't think it is the appropriate way to go."

She said U.S. officials were still studying the reforms, under which police will not penalize people for possessing up to 5 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of opium, 25 milligrams of heroin or 500 milligrams of cocaine.

People caught with larger quantities of drugs will be treated as narcotics dealers and face increased jail terms under the plan.

The legal changes will also decriminalize the possession of limited quantities of other drugs, including LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, amphetamines and peyote -- a psychotropic cactus found in Mexico's northern deserts.

Fox has been seen as a loyal ally of the United States in the war on drugs, but the reforms could create new tensions.

A delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives visited Mexico last week and met with senior officials to discuss drug control issues, but was told nothing of the planned legislative changes, said Michelle Gress, a House subcommittee counsel who was part of the visiting team. "We were not informed," she said.

HARDENED CRIMINALS

Hundreds of people, including many police officers, have been killed in Mexico in the past year as drug cartels battle for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the United States.

The violence has raged mostly in northern Mexico but in recent months has spread south to cities like vacation resort Acapulco.

Under current law, it is up to local judges and police to decide on a case-by-case basis whether people should be prosecuted for possessing small quantities of drugs, a source at the Senate's health commission told Reuters.

"The object of this law is to not put consumers in jail, but rather those who sell and poison," said Senator Jorge Zermeno of the ruling National Action Party.

Hector Michel Camarena, an opposition senator from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, warned that although well intentioned, the law may go too far.

"There are serious questions we have to carefully analyse so that through our spirit of fighting drug dealing, we don't end up legalizing," he said. "We have to get rid of the concept of the (drug) consumer."

(Additional reporting by Anahi Rama)

DRUG USE IS A PERSONAL CHOICE, THAT IS INFLUENCED BY MARKET FORCES

At our San Diego law firm, we successfully defended a parapalegic who had been charged with cultivation of Marijuana, obtaining a "dismissal in the interest of justice." Personally, I believe that it is absurd for the Government to be chasing users given that economics of the problem. Users are not the market force that creates the ills associated with illicit drugs; i.e., reduced productivity, illness, addiction, crime, and poor parenting and damage to the family structure. Those problems are merely results of the marketing and distribution efforts of the illicit drug industry. But for the continued efforts to sell drugs, supply would be limited, interest in drug use would diminish and the incidence of addiction and abuse to illicit substances would likely be similar to the addiction and abuse of prescribed medications.

Application of Antitrust Principles to Win the War on Drugs

The United States Government could eliminate the Drug Problem in the United States in eighteen months time by a few simple changes, applying economic principles described in common antitrust treatises:

First, market controls: Decriminalize all drugs, and provide the drugs by prescription or in limited dosages to adults.

Second, exclusive control of distribution channels: The Government should have the exclusive right to determine who sells illicit drugs, and thereby who profits. Licensed facilities, located far away from schools, churches, parks and other public places should be the only locations that drugs should allowed to be sold.

Third, pricing controls: Illicit drugs should be sold below cost in limited quantities, for personal use only. Selling below the cost of production, in limited quantities, will eliminate the profit motive to other market players in the drug industry. Sales of drugs for recreational use at a price that is obscenely low will result in economic damage to the other competitors, i.e., the bad people who import and distribute the drugs. At some point, there will be no point in selling drugs due to the remaining other risks.

Finally, barriers to market entry: Continued or even increased enforcement of the existing laws prohibiting distribution or importation of narcotics will have a greater effect than those efforts have at present, simply because a reduced market for the drugs and reduced profit potential for a successfully completed transaction will not justify what was previously a risk that would result in a sufficiently great reward to justify the risks.

The present War on Drugs is simply a misguided taxpayer boondoggle, a waste of precious public resources, and a justification for increased government intrusion into the lives of the members of the public. Mexico's courageous and forward thinking effort will provide the United States an example in problem solving.