Gridlock News

For two years a bill has been stuck in the Mexican Congress. Originally approved by the house, it has been stuck in the Senate, until last week. The Mexican Senate voted up the bill Friday morning clearing the way for the bill to be sent to President Vicente Fox, who is expected to sign the bill. The bill would legalize small amounts of cocaine, LSD, heroin and other drugs. The political theory goes that today in Mexico, if a person is caught with a very small amount of one of these drugs, the charges will be dropped if the person can prove that they are an addict. Proponents of the bill argue that legalizing small amounts will clear the way for the police and other authorities to focus on larger drug dealers and criminals. Two political groups outside of the country, surprised last Friday, are working overtime to convince President Fox to reconsider. The Catholic Church is arguing that Mexican citizens are not prepared for the legalization. They are concerned that legalizing drugs openly could unleash untold havoc on an unsuspecting community in Mexico. The United States is similarly concerned, however all politics are local. The United States is also very concerned about having a neighboring country akin to Amsterdam where tourists including American citizens could flock to various areas to use drugs. This could in addition to the problems created in Mexico, return a population of American tourists back to the states with new found addictions. Its one thing for US families to allow their teenage sons and daughters to head south for spring break for late night parties, raves and binge drinking. Its a completely different matter for those same students to travel to a country that openly has legalized narcotic drugs. Regardless of the result, there will be many ramifications. It is possible that this could trigger a pre-American backlash against movements currently underway in the US to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Many groups have pointed to the wasted effort of law enforcement in the US arresting users of drugs. Mexico is using a them that has been lightly considered in the states. Mexico's implementation of this plan could pave the way for future iterations of US policy on the topic. A success could shed light on the path for the US, and a failure could do the opposite. Bloomberg.com: Latin America