By John W. Lillpop
How do you say, "If you cannot beat them, join them!" in Spanish?
That term would appear to be most appropriate in third-world Mexico where President Felipe Calderon signed legislation to make the possession of "small amounts" of drugs, including cocaine and heroine, non-criminal.
The key here is small amounts. Addicts generally do not do well in limiting their pleasure to just small amounts. That is why they are called addicts.
As reported in the Phoenix newtimes, in part:
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/08/want_drugs_go_to_mexico_now_it.php
"Parents will be delighted to learn that their college students now have a legal place to experiment with hard drugs. And it's just across the border.
"No joke. Yesterday, Mexican President Felipe Calderon signed a controversial bill into law that will decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs, including pot and hard drugs like heroin, cocaine, LSD and meth -- basically, the works.
"By legalizing possession of small amounts of drugs, Mexican lawmakers hope to help law enforcement separate casual users from addicts. But it's not necessarily related to the old jail-or-treatment debate.
"The old law gave Mexican cops the choice of either taking in offenders or telling them to get treatment, the result usually being that small-time users are pinched for la mordida -- a bribe.
"Officials expect the new rules to reduce rampant police corruption. The decision was also influenced by the drug war--which has killed about 11,000 since Calderon took office in 2006--and the rise of drug users in Mexico.
"Here's how it'll work: First and second-time users caught by police will be asked to seek treatment rather than be thrown in jail. If they're caught a third time, they might be required to seek treatment."
With this sort of lunacy now codified into the law in Mexico, one must ask, "Does President Felipe Calderon himself have Mexican Swine Flu?"
Of course, Calderon is under enormous pressure to ramp up tourism after the disastrous swine flu that originated in Mexico and which is now a global pandemic.
Making cocaine and heroine non-criminal (in small amounts, mind you) might do wonders for the Mexican economy.
Furthermore, Calderon knows that there is a high probability that poor drug addicts will invade the U.S. in search of better jobs with which to fund their "mainstream" drug habits.
Its called illegal immigration and Calderon is all for it, provided the invaders are headed north to America. He is not nearly so enthusiastic about illegal aliens coming to Mexico from south of its borders.
Borders? What borders? We don't got no stinkin' borders!
Then again, honorable citizens may take only "small amounts" of cocaine and heroine in order to comply with the law.
And perhaps Tom Tancredo will be elected president of Mexico on Labor Day?
