Government in Favor of Decriminalizing Pot Use, Finding Alternatives to Prison Latin American Herald Tribune
go to original February 27, 2016

Mexican Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio has called for decriminalizing the use of marijuana and other drugs, and finding alternatives in the judicial system to the imprisonment of drug addicts.

“An important step that we should focus on is the actual decriminalization of consumption,” Osorio said in an address this week to a conference on cannabis policy in Ciudad Juarez, a border city in the northern state of Chihuahua.

Marijuana use has not been classified as a felony since 1994 and the same should be the case for possession and transportation of drugs for personal use, the Cabinet secretary said.

Osorio also called for a new approach to dealing with drug addiction in the judicial system, offering addicts “a different alternative to prison, with professional care that allows them to move forward and have a life with dignity.”

“To deal with drug addiction, use health programs, education, sports and development opportunities,” as well as prevention programs, Osorio said, adding that the laws on cannabis possession must be revised.

Read the rest at Latin American Herald Tribune

Photo: Omar Franco Pérez Reyes/Demotix

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