The Mexican government’s decision to eliminate jail time for recreational drug users has given border towns cause for concern.
Mexico’s new law will eliminate jail time for those caught with small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD and methamphetamine. A person caught with drugs lower than the personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment.
The personal-use limit includes five grams of marijuana, one-half of a gram of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams of methamphetamine and 0.015 of a milligram of LSD, according to a press release by the Drug Policy Alliance Network.
Southern Arizona law enforcement predicts there will be an increase in the number of U.S. citizens crossing into Mexico to take advantage of the new law.
“We will see more people coming across the border high on drugs and that is not a good thing,” said Tony Estrada, Santa Cruz county sheriff.
Nogales,Ariz.,Police Lieutenant Octavio Gradillas does not think individuals caught with small amounts will seek treatment.
“It will make it easier for kids to go into Mexico to get the drugs,” said Gradillas. “If you make something available to the general public, more people will explore it, thus creating new addicts.”
For Gradillas, there is no provision or funding system set in place to pay for treatment.
Police in Arizona fear Mexico will become a destination for drug users from the United States.
“It is another layer of attraction for people to go into Mexico and acquire drugs and not have to look over their shoulder that somebody is going to arrest them or detain them,” Estrada said.
“Young people can drink at 18 and maybe even earlier than that. Now we are going to have a situation right across the border where people can have a personal use of certain drugs.”
Ruben Reed, a Tucson resident who occasionally smokes marijuana, said he was surprised to hear about the new law and agreed that border towns may see an increase in the number of people coming back to the United States under the influence.
“What shocks me about this law is that they are pretty much allowing people to do drugs more dangerous than marijuana,” Reed said. “If this law was specifically for marijuana, then reactions would be different, but it’s not. It is pretty much saying that it is okay for you to snort cocaine and inject yourself with heroin.”
Gradillas said he finds the law strange because the president of Mexico has taken a strong stance against the drug cartels and it seems counterproductive to enact a law eliminating jail for personal possession.
He said Mexico’s new law is part of a trend across Latin America, including countries like Brazil and Uruguay.
For Estrada, the new law offers an opportunity for the United States to see what happens when drug use restrictions are lifted.
For the United States, it is a wait and see attitude, he said.
“It is better them than us and it will be interesting to see what will happen both in the short and long runs,” he said.
Estrada compares the new law to opening up a candy store because there will be more demand on the Mexican side as well as more suppliers.
“It may take a while but it is something that is obviously not available here - just like liquor is until you’re 21-years-old - and what is going to happen on the Mexican side, they have more demand and I think they will have more suppliers,” Estrada said.
Josue Rojo, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent, said it is too early to tell what impact the new law will have on the U.S. side.
“Without a doubt there will be an increase in people coming across the border but I suspect that we will just wait, then plan something in case this gets out of hand,” he said. “As of this moment, our inspections will continue to be the same. All we can do is wait.”
