The eternal debate on whether or not to legalize the production and use of marijuana for recreational purposes has once again had a new round in Mexico, this time due to statements by the country’s Secretary of Tourism, Enrique de la Madrid, who believed that this would reduce violence in the country.
The secretary proposed legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes in the most important tourist destinations in the country, such as Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo.
“I would like to see that, that it could be done in Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo, the two main tourist destinations in Mexico that do not have to be victims of violence due to inappropriate treatment of drugs in Mexico,” he told them. to journalists in Mexico this Thursday.
What is the objective of the proposal?
What De la Madrid proposes is to legalize the production and consumption of marijuana for recreational purposes to combat organized crime and the illegal sale of drugs and thus help to reduce insecurity in the country.
For him, the legalization of marijuana would also help Mexico compete with other places where this substance is already legal for recreational purposes, such as California, which in early 2018 began selling it to the public.
The proposal would not cover the legalization, consumption, or production of other drugs.
Would it be across the country?
No. According to the secretary of Tourism, Mexico should copy the model of the United States, where marijuana is illegal in the eyes of the Federal Government, but it is legal in five states: California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Nevada.
“At least in the tourist areas of the country, that it would do us enormous harm to lose those destinations due to the fight against drug trafficking, I believe that making legal, not only the consumption, [but] the production and sale of marijuana and not other drugs, it would contribute, together with other actions, to safer destinations, “said the Secretary of Tourism in a forum.
It is not a government proposal
After his statements, the Tourism Secretary said on his Twitter account that it was an opinion in his personal capacity.
“My opinion on the legalization of marijuana is a reflection on a personal basis, based on the analysis and study of the subject for many years. I am convinced that we must debate it, as part of the solution to violence and insecurity in Mexico. ”
Quiero ser enfático en que mi opinión sobre la legalización de la marihuana es una reflexión a título personal, basada en el análisis y estudio del tema por muchos años. Estoy convencido de que debemos debatirlo, como parte de la solución a la violencia e inseguridad en México.
— Enrique de la Madrid (@edelamadrid) January 25, 2018
His proposal joins the approach of other leaders in the region who propose the paradigm shift in the fight against drugs, such as the former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox; the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and the former president of that country, César Gaviria, who have advocated a change in approach because they say the war on drugs is being lost.
What is the debate about recreational marijuana going in Mexico?
Recreational use of marijuana is illegal in Mexico. However, in November 2015, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation authorized the use and cultivation of marijuana for self-consumption and recreational purposes to four people who requested it.
In Mexico, the proposal is not well received. In 2016 President Enrique Peña Nieto presented an initiative to Congress to increase the minimum legal size of marijuana, going from the limit of 5 to 28 grams. But this was not approved.
In 2017, Mexico approved the use of marijuana for medicinal and therapeutic purposes. The measure approved changes to the federal Health Code to allow the use of cannabis derivatives and the Federal Penal Code to decriminalize its cultivation in the country.
Does the proposal seek to incentivize cannabais tourism?
No, “because they already bring it or they buy it,” said the secretary about marijuana. “They don’t come for that.”
“If I come from California, and they are going to ban it in Los Cabos, I better not go, better I stay in California,” he added.
For De La Madrid, what should be avoided, because “it is not justified”, is that a person goes to prison for consuming marijuana and that he may also be “subject to extortion” for buying this product.
2017 was the bloodiest year in Mexico’s history due to drug-related violence.
In Baja California Sur, an area full of popular tourist destinations like Cabo San Lucas, the number of homicides tripled from 192 in 2016 to 560 in 2017, according to a government report published on January 20.
And Quintana Roo, located in the Yucatan peninsula, where there are such important tourist places as Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Tulúm, doubled the number of homicides between 2016 and 2017, going from 165 cases to 359 last year, according to the report. Kidnapping cases nearly tripled and extortion went from 41 to 77 cases.
More than 37 million foreign tourists arrived in Mexico last year, which represents 8.7 of GDP. This is one of the sectors that generates the most jobs in the country, with 9 million direct and indirect workers throughout the country.