Thoughts from the void: Cannabis and Mexico

Mexico, which shares its northern borders with the US, became a focal point of cannabis prohibition when it came into force in the US in the 1930s. One of the reasons cited by the then US lawmakers was that immigrant Mexicans were bringing in cannabis, leading to crime and a degradation of society.

Things have not changed much in that regard even today. Donald Trump was quite intent on building a physical wall to keep Mexicans and their cannabis out of the US. The funny side of the situation today is that many states in the US have now legalized medical or recreational cannabis and the US is cultivating high quality cannabis. The direction of cannabis flow between the two countries is said to be reversing.

Being in close proximity to the US has, however, greatly disrupted Mexican social life in many ways. US law enforcement and the DEA working in conjunction with the Mexican government have over the decades fought a long war on Mexican cannabis. Cannabis, with its long history and cultural tradition in Mexico, got its world famous name 'pot' essentially from its Mexican name 'Potuguaya' or 'potacion di guaya'. Mexican native communities may have brought their cannabis from Asia when they made their long journey thousands of years ago. It was common in the years of prohibition for Americans to cross the border for cannabis and even smuggle some back. But the incessant pressure from both the US and Mexican governments has surely caused untold damage to cannabis varieties, cultivation areas and farmers lives in Mexico. Large units of law enforcers are known to destroy huge quantities of cannabis on a regular basis. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2020 says - 'Over the period 2008–2018, the largest cannabis herb seizures worldwide took place in the United States, followed by Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco, Brazil, India and Egypt.' The effects of this sustained action against cannabis, whether deliberate or by chance, have been interesting for Mexican society and its inseparable linkage with the United States.

In the years following cannabis prohibition, the US has become the world's biggest heroin market and one of the leading methamphetamine markets. Mexico has become one of the world's leading heroin and methamphetamine sources. Cocaine from South America, besides heroin, and more recently locally manufactured methamphetamine and fentanyl, flows into the US through Mexico. These dangerous drugs are much more difficult to detect as compared to the medicinal cannabis and bring in huge profits once sold in the American market. This has resulted in powerful drug cartels now operating out of Mexico. They possibly exert tremendous pressure on cannabis farmers and consumers to keep competition from them down and their synthetic drug markets thriving. They possibly have become powerful enough to lobby for keeping cannabis criminalized as can be evidenced from events in the recent past. The addiction to opioids had, by the 1950s, grown to such an extent that government permits were issued to opioid addicts so that they could receive a monthly quota of morphine from pharmacies.

Regarding methamphetamine, the UNODC World Drug Report 2020 says -

'For example, the manufacture of methamphetamine was traditionally carried out in small-scale laboratories in the United States to serve the domestic market. But this kind of production seems now to be dwarfed by industrial-size laboratories in Mexico. The methamphetamine seized in the United States over the past few years is increasingly imported, with the trade controlled by Mexican cartels.'
'Nonetheless, seizures of methamphetamine remain highly concentrated: the three countries responsible for most of the methamphetamine seized worldwide in 2018 (the United States, Thailand and Mexico) accounted for 80 per cent of the global total'
However, the overall output of domestic methamphetamine manufacture in the United States now appears to be considerably smaller than the potential output produced by several of the large, industrial-scale laboratories found in other parts of the world, such as Mexico and East and South-East Asia, in recent years. Over the past few years, the United States has reported that most of the methamphetamine found on its market has been smuggled into the country from abroad, most notably from Mexico. Most of the clandestine production and smuggling seems to be controlled by various Mexican drug cartels.'
According to the United States authorities, the latter phenomenon appears to have resulted from attempts by Mexican organized crime groups to diversify their drug portfolio as they attempted to reduce their dependence on cocaine produced in countries in South America, preferring instead to source the required chemicals from China and produce methamphetamine themselves. Methamphetamine shipments intercepted along the south-western border of the United States increased almost fourfold between 2013 and 2018.'
'Practically all the major transnational criminal organizations in Mexico seem to be involved in the smuggling of methamphetamine to the United States. They include the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Juárez Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, the Los Zetas Cartel and the Beltrán-Leyva Organization.

Regarding heroin and morphine, UNODC World Drug Report 2020 says -

'Seizures made in the United States accounted for 87 per cent of all heroin and morphine seized in the Americas in 2018, followed by Mexico (the country where most opium is produced in the region), Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Canada and Guatemala.' .
'Most heroin (and morphine) trafficking in the Americas continues to take place within North America, i.e., from Mexico to the United States and, to a far lesser extent, from Colombia and from Guatemala (typically via Mexico) to the United States. Based on forensic profiling, United States authorities estimated in 2017 that over 90 per cent of the heroin samples analysed originated in Mexico and 4 per cent in South America, while around 1 per cent originated in South-West Asia. This stands in stark contrast to a decade earlier (2007), when only 25 per cent was sourced from Mexico and 70 per cent was imported from South America.'

The Mexican Supreme Court has on three different occasions ruled that cannabis should not be prohibited for personal consumption and that the adult recreational use of cannabis is a human right to freedom of a Mexican citizen. Three rulings in favor of a particular decision is treated as requiring a change in law thus forcing Mexican lawmakers to take steps to legalize cannabis. The Mexican government has been drafting adult recreational laws for some months now but on the ground it is yet to be implemented making one wonder what the real causes of the delay are. Lobbying from drug cartels and pressure from the US federal government are two key reasons for the delay that cannot be ruled out. A US sandwiched between Canada and Mexico with legalized cannabis will be hard pressed to keep it illegal at the federal level, given that it is already under tremendous pressure from within to change its cannabis laws. But the US federal lawmakers, incapable of looking beyond the tips of their noses, will do well to recognize that Mexico legalizing cannabis is one of the ways to blunt the threat of methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl pouring into the US and hence the great importance of supporting Mexico's cannabis legalization initiative. 2020 looked promising but Mexican lawmakers cited Covid to postpone legalization to 2021 which is where things stand as of now.

If Mexico legalizes recreational cannabis like the US's northern neighbor Canada and the South American country Uruguay, it will become the world's most populous nation to have legalized cannabis creating a huge market. Legalization in Mexico would drastically reduce crimes at the border between the US and Mexico and law enforcement in both countries could better focus on curbing more dangerous drug trafficking as well as the improvement of cannabis related trade, tourism, agriculture and industry within and between these two countries and other countries in the region such as Canada, South America and the Caribbean Islands. Already the legalization of cannabis in many US states has dramatically reduced border crime between Mexico and the US.

As important as the regional impact of Mexico legalizing cannabis is, equally important or more so is the impact of legalization on the people of Mexico who will have a safe, medicinal and herbal recreational drug as an alternative to the highly dangerous heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. It will also help to protect a plant and culture that have been a part of the country for ages and the environment. The country must move to full adult recreational cannabis including home growing for the plant to be fully accessible to all the people who need it especially the poor, the sick, the elderly, youth, women, minorities and indigenous tribal communities, as well as to truly leverage the plant's wonderful and diverse properties.

The grassroots level activism by the people of Mexico has helped to put pressure on its lawmakers. A cannabis garden is said to have come up just opposite the parliament where supporters of legalization grow and smoke cannabis to remind the lawmakers of their duty to the nation.

It is interesting to note that at the recently concluded UN meeting to review the recommendations on rescheduling of cannabis, according to MJBizDaily, Mexico apparently took a stand in favor of cannabis rescheduling and legalization at the UN stating that failing to act on the recommendations “would mean shrinking our [UN] role as the principal organ to address the world drug problem." One expects Mexico to not only legalize recreational cannabis use shortly, but also to assume a leadership position at the UN in making cannabis legalization worldwide a reality. After all, this is reconnecting with our roots and working towards that sustainable world that all living beings wish for and look forward to.

In December 2020, the UN voted to remove cannabis from its most restricted Schedule IV category of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It does however still remain in Schedule I, which is the least restrictive. This one move by the UN itself should be sufficient to bring about the recreational legalization of cannabis in every nation and an overhaul of national drug laws.

It must be noted that in most places where cannabis legalization has happened it took the efforts of the people who mobilized themselves through grassroots level movements to bring about this change. Left to lawmakers legalization would have been impossible, as the main interests of lawmakers concern the protection of the big industries opposed to cannabis such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, medical, alcohol and tobacco. For something that truly benefits the people, the people themselves have had to make the change.

Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.

'As the coronavirus spread across the globe, lawmakers had to cancel further action in late March, missing an April 30 deadline Mexico’s supreme court set. Now, lawmakers have to pass a legalization bill during their next scheduled legislative session, which runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 15.

If approved, Mexico would be the world’s most populous country – population 130 million – with legalized cannabis regardless of THC content, meaning both marijuana and hemp.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/mexico-moves-toward-legal-hemp-marijuana-despite-latest-delay/

'That would mean that lawmakers are expecting to meet a Supreme Court deadline to end federal cannabis prohibition. Last year, the court ruled that the country’s ban on personal possession, use and cultivation of marijuana was unconstitutional and said the government must formally legalize those activities by October. Many key lawmakers have said the country should go even further by legally regulating cannabis sales and production as well.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexican-senate-leader-says-marijuana-will-be-legalized-this-month/

'Since 2011, interceptions of cannabis along U.S. borders have fallen 89%, reflecting the convergence of changing social, economic, and legal developments.
The southern border continues to account for almost all the interceptions (99%), though it has also seen the steepest decline (90%) of them since 2011.
The decrease in southern interceptions is likely attributable to a range of factors: falling demand for illicit cannabis in states with legal medical and adult use programs, less appeal for traditionally lower-quality cannabis from Mexico or other southern countries than for domestically cultivated products, and increased border enforcement efforts raising the risk of interdiction.
Conversely, interceptions at the norther border increased 113% between 2018 and 2019, reflecting Canada’s nationwide adult-use legalization in 2018 and the appeal of its reputed high-quality cannabis.
The data suggest that legalization is having a major disruptive effect on international cannabis smuggling operations aimed at the U.S., and underscores American consumer preference for regulated cannabis products where available and competitively priced'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/cannabis-border-interceptions-decreasing/

'According to United States authorities, most of the fentanyls destined for the North American market have been manufactured in China in recent years, from where they were either shipped directly to the United States, mostly through postal services, or were first shipped to Mexico and, to a lesser extent, Canada and then smuggled into the United States. However, after the introduction by China in May 2019 of drug controls based on generic legislation with regard to the fentanyls, which effectively brought more than 1,400 known fentanyl analogues under national control in China, early signs suggest that fewer fentanyls were smuggled from China to North America. At the same time, attempts to manufacture fentanyl and its analogues inside North America are increasing, notably in Mexico, by means of a method using precursor chemicals smuggled into the subregion from East Asia and South Asia.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf

Adults will be able to possess up to 28 grams and grow four plants personally, with a limit of six plants per household. April 30th is the deadline set by the Supreme court...

'Mexico is poised to become the world’s most-populous country with legal marijuana and hemp next month – and, unlike its northern neighbor, Mexico is setting nationwide regulations to cover all forms of cannabis, no matter the THC content, instead of having a patchwork of laws for the two plants.

That could potentially open more business opportunities in the cannabis industry, with the potential for Mexico to export and import from places worldwide where the plants are legal.

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in 2018 said it was unconstitutional to ban the use of cannabis for personal use, “under the theory of free development of personality, which sounds a lot like (the United States’) Bill of Rights, the right to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness,” Pittman said.'

https://hempindustrydaily.com/legalization-of-cannabis-in-mexico-could-be-big-for-us-markets/

Predictable? Probably too many drug lords and sleazy politicians in Mexico and the US having too much to lose..

'The Mexican Senate struck an agreement to postpone most legislative activity as part of the second phase of contingency measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision casts serious doubt on the feasibility of complying with the April 30 deadline the Supreme Court set for the legalization of cannabis.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/mexico-senate-suspension-puts-cannabis-legalization-deadline-in-doubt/

'As the coronavirus spread across the globe, lawmakers had to cancel further action in late March, missing an April 30 deadline Mexico’s supreme court set. Now, lawmakers have to pass a legalization bill during their next scheduled legislative session, which runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 15.

If approved, Mexico would be the world’s most populous country – population 130 million – with legalized cannabis regardless of THC content, meaning both marijuana and hemp.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/mexico-moves-toward-legal-hemp-marijuana-despite-latest-delay/

'Heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine traffickers have varied routes and continue to develop new trading patterns. For example, the manufacture of methamphetamine was traditionally carried out in small-scale laboratories in the United States to serve the domestic market. But this kind of production seems now to be dwarfed by industrial-size laboratories in Mexico. The methamphetamine seized in the United States over the past few years is increasingly imported, with the trade controlled by Mexican cartels' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_1.pdf

'Heroin trafficking in the Americas remains concentrated in North America. The subregion accounted for 94 per cent of all quantities of heroin and morphine seized in the Americas in 2018, when seizures reported in North America were almost four times as high as a decade earlier. Seizures made in the United States accounted for 87 per cent of all heroin and morphine seized in the Americas in 2018, followed by Mexico (the country where most opium is produced in the region), Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Canada and Guatemala.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020,
https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'Most heroin (and morphine) trafficking in the Americas continues to take place within North America, i.e., from Mexico to the United States and, to a far lesser extent, from Colombia and from Guatemala (typically via Mexico) to the United States. Based on forensic profiling, United States authorities estimated in 2017 that over 90 per cent of the heroin samples analysed originated in Mexico and 4 per cent in South America, while around 1 per cent originated in South-West Asia. This stands in stark contrast to a decade earlier (2007), when only 25 per cent was sourced from Mexico and 70 per cent was imported from South America.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'Nonetheless, seizures of methamphetamine remain highly concentrated: the three countries responsible for most of the methamphetamine seized worldwide in 2018 (the United States, Thailand and Mexico) accounted for 80 per cent of the global total, while the three countries reporting the largest quantities of amphetamine (Turkey, Pakistan and the Syrian Arab Republic) and the three countries reporting the most “ecstasy” seized (Turkey, the United States and Australia) accounted for a significantly smaller proportion of the global total (around 50 per cent) in 2018.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'The United States reported the dismantling of 1,607 methamphetamine laboratories in 2018, accounting for 78 per cent of all methamphetamine laboratories dismantled worldwide that year. However, the overall output of domestic methamphetamine manufacture in the United States now appears to be considerably smaller than the potential output produced by several of the large, industrial-scale laboratories found in other parts of the world, such as Mexico and East and South-East Asia, in recent years. Over the past few years, the United States has reported that most of the methamphetamine found on its market has been smuggled into the country from abroad, most notably from Mexico. Most of the clandestine production and smuggling seems to be controlled by various Mexican drug cartels.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'By contrast, the decline in the number of dismantled laboratories after 2010 was no longer in line with the upward trend in a number of other indicators, which had been clearly pointing to an expansion of the methamphetamine market, both in terms of supply (rising seizures, falling purity adjusted prices) and demand (rising prevalence rates, positive tests among the general workforce, treatment admissions and deaths). The purity of methamphetamine rose from 95 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 to 98 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, while the potency of methamphetamine increased from 85 to 97 per cent over the same period. This indicates an improvement in the know-how of organized crime groups manufacturing methamphetamine from various (non-scheduled) P-2-P precursors in neighbouring Mexico, an overall increase in the supply of methamphetamine in the United States and the emergence of a potentially even more problematic substance, showing everhigher levels of purity and potency, thus increasing the risk of overdose.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'The decline in the domestic supply of methamphetamine, indicated by the falling number of manufacturing facilities dismantled in the United States, going hand in hand with increasing use and an overall increase in the supply of the drug, can be explained by the increasing importance of rapidly growing illegal methamphetamine imports from clandestine manufacture sites in neighbouring Mexico. According to the United States authorities, the latter phenomenon appears to have resulted from attempts by Mexican organized crime groups to diversify their drug portfolio as they attempted to reduce their dependence on cocaine produced in countries in South America, preferring instead to source the required chemicals from China and produce methamphetamine themselves. Methamphetamine shipments intercepted along the south-western border of the United States increased almost fourfold between 2013 and 2018.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'The largest quantities of methamphetamine seized in 2018 were the quantities seized in the United States, followed by Thailand and Mexico. Marked increases in the quantities seized from 2017 to 2018 were reported by the United States and Thailand, while the quantities of methamphetamine seized in China declined, in line with reports of wastewater analysis that showed a significant decline in methamphetamine consumption in that country.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'The quantities of methamphetamine seized in North America rose sixfold between 2009 and 2018, to 117 tons. North American methamphetamine seizures accounted for more than 99 per cent of all the methamphetamine seized in the Americas in 2018. Methamphetamine seizures in the subregion were dominated by those reported by the United States (71 per cent of the total in 2018), followed by Mexico (29 per cent), while the quantities of methamphetamine seized in Canada (0.4 per cent) remained more limited' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'As cross-border methamphetamine trafficking in North America consists mainly of trafficking from Mexico to the United States, the south-western border thus remains the main entry point for illegal imports of methamphetamine into the United States: in 2018, 95 per cent of the methamphetamine seizures made by United States customs authorities were effected at or near the country’s south-western border. Quantities of methamphetamine seized in the United States as a whole almost tripled between 2013 and 2018, whereas those intercepted along the south-western border quadrupled during the same period. Trafficking modi operandi include concealment by human couriers on commercial flights, the use of parcel delivery services, and the use of pick-up trucks and commercial buses, as well as unusual goods deliveries such as concealment in metal collars, cargo stabilizers, electric transformers and industrial drill bits, reflecting the increasing sophistication of methamphetamine smuggling activities. Another emerging trend over the past few years has been the use of drones, which easily fly over physical barriers on the border while the operators remain at a safe distance from where the drugs are dropped, thereby reducing the risk of arrest.' - United Nation s Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'Practically all the major transnational criminal organizations in Mexico seem to be involved in the smuggling of methamphetamine to the United States. They include the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Juárez Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, the Los Zetas Cartel and the Beltrán-Leyva Organization. In parallel, outlaw motorcycle gangs continue to be involved in the distribution of methamphetamine within the United States. The increased involvement of Mexican organized crime groups in the trafficking of drugs other than cocaine has contributed to the spread of methamphetamine trafficking from the western United States to the whole country over the past decade, including states in the eastern part of the country that had previously been spared from the large-scale harmful use of methamphetamine.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'The United States, for example, has been reported by other countries as a country of departure of methamphetamine for Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), Asia (Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, China and Mongolia) and Europe (Ireland). Moreover, methamphetamine trafficking has been reported not only from Mexico or from Canada into the United States but also from the United States to those two countries, suggesting a number of two-way trafficking flows across the countries of North America. Methamphetamine trafficked from Canada has been reported in the United States, South America (Chile), Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) and a few countries in Europe (Iceland and Latvia).' - United Nations Office on D rugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'More recently, methamphetamine shipments have also been intercepted en route from Mexico to the Netherlands for distribution in Europe; moreover, Mexican “methamphetamine cooks”, linked to Mexican organized crime groups, were arrested in Europe, after being detected in large-scale methamphetamine manufacture in Western Europe.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'Methamphetamine found in Australia and New Zealand is both locally manufactured and, to a larger extent, imported from North America and Asia. In the fiscal year 2017/18, methamphetamine was mainly smuggled into Australia from the United States, followed by Thailand, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, China (including Hong Kong, China), Mexico, Lebanon, Viet Nam and India. The United States was also the main source country of the methamphetamine found in New Zealand in 2018, followed by Canada and, in SouthEast Asia, by Malaysia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'The quantity of cannabis herb seized in 2018 declined by 16 per cent compared with a year earlier, falling to 4,303 tons, the lowest level since 1999. As compared with 2010, the quantity seized fell by 34 per cent at the global level, largely due to decreases reported in North America (-84 per cent), with marked declines being reported by Mexico, the United States and Canada. Discussions and policies aimed at liberalizing the cannabis markets, including changes in the drug’s legislation in Canada and some jurisdictions of the United States, legalizing the production, distribution and the recreational use of cannabis, seem to have played a key role in this respect. By contrast, the quantities of cannabis herb seized almost doubled in the rest of the world over the period 2010–2018 (South America: +194 per cent; Oceania: +94 per cent; Europe: +73 per cent; Asia: +71 per cent; Africa: +53 per cent). The global cannabis herb trafficking index, based on qualitative information reported by Member States on trends in cannabis herb trafficking, also increased over the same period, although the trend appeared to be stabilizing in 2018.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'In 2018, the largest quantities of cannabis herb seized worldwide continued to be those reported by Paraguay, followed by the United States and India. Cannabis herb produced in Paraguay is reported to have been mainly destined for neighbouring Brazil (77 per cent) and Argentina (20 per cent). Over the period 2008–2018, the largest cannabis herb seizures worldwide took place in the United States, followed by Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco, Brazil, India and Egypt' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'At first we filled the scripts without too much trouble. But after a few weeks the scripts had piled up in the drugstores that would fill M[orphine] scripts and they began packing in. It looked like we would be back with Lupita. Once or twice we got short and had to score with Lupita. Using that good drugstore M had run up our habits, and so it took two of Lupita's fifteen-peso papers to fix us. Now, thirty pesos in one shot was a lot more than I could afford to pay. I had to quit, cut down to where I could make it on two of Lupita's papers per day, or find another source of supply.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953

'One of the script-writing doctors suggested to Ike that he apply for a government permit. Ike explained to me that the Mexican government issued permits to hips allowing them a definite quantity of morphine per month at wholesale prices. The doctor would put in an application for Ike for one hundred pesos. I said, "Go ahead and apply." and gave him the money. I did not expect the deal to go through, but it did. Ten days later, he had a government permit to buy fifteen grams of morphine every month. The permits had to be signed by his doctor and the head doctor at the Board of Health. Then he could take it to a drugstore and have it filled.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953

Afghanistan and Mexico source the heroin and morphine. Mexico, Thailand, Myanmar and China source the methamphetamine. The Middle East and Eastern Europe sources the amphetamine. The US consumes heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Europe consumes heroin, morphine, methamphetamine and amphetamine. Asia consumes heroin, morphine and methamphetamine. Australia consumes methamphetamine. The Middle East consumes heroin and amphetamine. West Asia consumes heroin and methamphetamine. All countries grow and consume cannabis. Opioids, methamphetamine and amphetamines kill the most in terms of drug deaths, cannabis kills none. Who are the leading opponents to cannabis legalization and leading enforcers of global anti-cannabis policy? The countries involved the most in heroin, morphine, amphetamines and methamphetamine. They put on a mask of concern about harms from drugs, produce, sell and consume the most dangerous synthetic drugs and vehemently oppose cannabis legalization worldwide while clandestinely feeding their habits and protecting their sources. They use arms and armies to protect and promote their synthetic drug habits, and drug money to fund and wage a war on cannabis everywhere, pushing man and planet ever closer to death on massive scales and away from the safe, healing cannabis herb...
Jul 10, 2020, 1:14 PM

'Mexico said failing to act on the recommendations “would mean shrinking our role as the principal organ to address the world drug problem.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/postponed-vote-on-who-cannabis-recommendations-reveals-international-disagreements-uphill-battle-ahead/

'Mexico is the second-most populated country in Latin America, with more than 1.4 million cannabis consumers, including nearly 850,000 regular (past-month) users.
Mexico’s total potential market revenues surpass $2.0 billion, supporting between 50,000-75,000 jobs.
Converting farms from illicit to legal grows represents a significant challenge for the Mexican government due to the activity and influence of drug cartels.
During the latest presidential election, Mexican voters identified violence, corruption and economic growth among top concerns; the interior department reported nearly 16,000 killings in the first half of 2018 — the highest total in more than 20 years, and a rate of 320,000 over a decade.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/mexicos-cannabis-market-potential/

'Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that growing, possessing and smoking marijuana for recreation is legal under the right to freedom.

The measure was approved in 4—1 vote on the five—justice panel, backing the argument that smoking marijuana is covered under the right of “free development of personality.”

At this point, the ruling covers only the plaintiffs in a single case, a group of four people wanting to form a pot club.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/mexico-supreme-court-takes-step-toward-recreational-pot-use/article7845179.ece

'“I say it from the heart: we celebrate it, the Court is setting a marvelous precedent for us to walk in that direction,” Sánchez said, according to a Google translation of a Reforma report.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexicos-ruling-party-plans-legislation-to-legalize-marijuana-sales/

'As part of the trip by seven secretaries-designate, officials from the two nations will meet about issues such as human rights, inclusive governance and “regulation of cannabis use,” a press release from López Obrador’s transition team said.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexican-government-officials-visit-canada-to-learn-about-marijuana-legalization/

'A senator from Mexico’s ruling party who will soon be a key member of the incoming president’s cabinet filed a bill to legalize marijuana production and sales on Tuesday.

The move comes less than one week after the Mexican Supreme Court struck down the country’s criminalization of cannabis use and possession as unconstitutional.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/key-mexican-senator-introduces-bill-to-legalize-marijuana-sales/

'In today's announcement made by Mr. Julio Sánchez y Tepóz, Federal Commissioner of COFEPRIS, the commission laid out the key components of the provision, medical and scientific research and types of cannabis products. This is the regulatory development that responds to the legislative change made by the Mexican Congress'
https://investors.khiron.ca/press-releases/detail/45/khiron-life-sciences-applauds-government-of-mexico-on

Sounds like a great party...here's wishing that it happens...

'Nay Salvatori, a Member of Parliament in Mexico, tweeted: "When marijuana is legal, you are all invited to smoke at my house listening to The Doors. Who's up for it?"'
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/740682/cannabis-legalised-nay-salvatori-twitter-marijuana-the-doors-tweet

The new law would allow individuals to grow up to 20 marijuana plants and produce up to 17 ounces of the drug each year, or roughly 1,440 joints.

'Lopez Obrador, who was elected in a landslide during the summer and takes office Dec. 1, campaigned on a promise to end the violence. He has declared Mexico’s military-led war on drugs a failure and has said he will consider a number of radical new approaches. They include amnesty for some nonviolent criminals involved in the drug trade, the creation of truth-and-reconciliation commissions and the decriminalization of some drugs.

His pick for interior minister, Olga Sanchez Cordero, is a Morena senator and a former Supreme Court justice who has been a vocal advocate for legalizing marijuana. She co-wrote the proposed marijuana legislation, which blames the country’s escalating violence on what she called Mexico’s “prohibitionist” drug policy.'
https://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-marijuana-2018-story.html

'C[ocaine] is hard to find in Mexico. I had never used any good coke before. Coke is pure kick. It lifts you straight up, a mechanical lift that starts leaving you as soon as you feel it. I don't know anything like C for a lift, but the lift lasts only ten minutes or so. Then you want another shot. You can't stop shooting C - as long as it is there you shoot it. When you are shooting C, you shoot more M[orphine] to level the C kick and smooth out the rough edges. Without M, C makes you too nervous, and M is an antidote for an overdose. There is no tolerance with C, and not much margin between a regular and a toxic dose. Several times I got too much and everything went black and my heart began turning over. Luckily I always had plenty of M on hand, and a shot of M fixed me right up.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953

'During the year or so I was on junk in Mexico, I started the cure five times. I tried reducing the shots, I tried the Chinese cure with a solution of hop and Wampole's medicine. Every time you take some of the hop solution you add an equal amount of Wampole's medicine. In ten days or so you are drinking plain Wampole's Tonic, and the reduction was so slow you never noticed.
That is the theory of the Chinese cure. What generally happens is this: You start taking a little more hop solution than your schedule allows and that means you put in more Wampole's and dilute the hop that much quicker. After a few days you don't know how much there is in there and you take it all to be sure. So you wind up with a worse habit than you had before the Chinese cure.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953

Recreational marijuana legalization, cultivation and export of Mexican strains of marijuana could see a new era of high quality marijuana trade with Canada, the US and other countries. If the marijuana is great, who knows, you might start seeing reverse immigration from the US to Mexico.

'Then, Mr. López Obrador may decide to go forward with his bold and praiseworthy ideas of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and poppy cultivation to produce painkillers in Mexico. The country imports legal morphine in large quantities and exports illegal heroin. If he proceeds this way, however, he may face serious reprisals by an American administration concerned about the opioid crisis and drugs in general.'
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/opinion/mexico-lopez-obrador-inauguration-castaneda.html

One foreign jaunt that I wouldn't mind seeing Indian politicians going on with taxpayers money would be to learn from example more about how ganja legalization can be brought about quickly and effectively in India....

'The process to consult with countries that have moved forward with reform seems to have already started, with Mexican officials having already visited Canada in October to discuss marijuana legalization.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexican-officials-will-ask-other-countries-for-marijuana-legalization-advice-foreign-minister-says/

'Mexico’s Senate released a report this week that lays out general considerations for lawmakers to keep in mind as the country moves toward legalizing marijuana for adult use.

The report doesn’t make explicit recommendations, but instead details how various jurisdictions around the world have approached regulating cannabis sales.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexican-senate-report-lays-out-marijuana-legalization-considerations/

'The first thing investors and entrepreneurs need to understand is that, unlike the U.S., Mexico is going for a federal legalization of cannabis, he said. “For an entrepreneur this is a clear signal that the market will be huge.” In fact, Mr. Fox believes Mexico’s market will be much larger than Canada's or even California’s, as the Latin American country has more than triple the population of its Northern counterparts, at 150 million people.

“It’s also important for investors to understand that the cannabis industry has high return rates for the time being, especially in emerging markets. So, cannabis investments in Mexico can be recuperated much faster than usual,” he continued. “We still have 5 to 10 years of high profitability still ahead of us.”'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2019/02/12/this-former-president-thinks-mexico-could-soon-be-exporting-cannabis-to-the-us-legally/#7904b7341671

'Following the decision of the First Chamber, the matter advances with substantial support to the Supreme Court, where it would approve the general statement to establish case law against five sections of health legislation that would prohibit personal use or consumption, as well as planting, cultivation, harvesting, preparation, possession and transport of the plant. Legislators had a period of 90 calendar days to amend or repeal these five articles.

Once the decision is published in the official journal Semanario Judicial, all federal judges in the country will be required to provide protection to people who ask to consume legally.'
https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2019/02/mexico-legalizes-marijuana-for-recreational-purposes/

'Mexico’s relations with Washington were badly damaged when Caro Quintero ordered Camarena kidnapped, tortured and killed, purportedly because he was angry about a raid on an 89-hectare marijuana plantation in central Mexico'
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/release-of-mexican-drug-lord-angers-us/article5011627.ece

What about the divine ganja amigos?

'Speaking in the state of Zacatecas, Lopez Obrador said that a recent proposal from the country’s defense minister, who backed legalization of opium for medicinal use, was important and that he would not rule out anything.'
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-drugs/mexico-president-elect-says-will-look-at-legalizing-some-drugs-idUSKCN1MH0XZ

The rebirth of the age of ganja...

'For the masses in the ruins, Dec. 21 sparked celebration of what they saw as the birth of a new and better age. It was also inspiration for massive clouds of patchouli and marijuana smoke and a chorus of conch calls at the break of dawn.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/mayan-heartland-in-mexico-greets-new-era/article4228542.ece

Legalize ganja federally in the US. Encourage the growth and consumption of ganja as a healthier, green alternative to the pharmaceutical business and market of methamphetamine in the US, Mexico and worldwide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxhyumdiVtw

Legalize recreational marijuana in the US and in Mexico to reduce the demand and market for meth. No wall can stop corruption but legalization could.

'The new president of Mexico was installed on Saturday, amid rising violence in Juarez. More than 10 years after the war on drugs was launched in Mexico, VICE News looks at current state of Mexican drug cartels as a new president prepares to take office on December 1, and a new phase in the drug war begins.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ToJrahEu_w

'This year, Mexico is expected to join Uruguay as the second country in the region to fully legalize adult-use cannabis following the 2018 Supreme Court’s ruling which declared cannabis prohibition as unconstitutional stating “the effects caused by marijuana do not justify an absolute prohibition on its consumption.”'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/latin-americas-top-5-estimated-addressable-cannabis-markets-for-2019/

'Safe in Mexico, I watched the anti-junk campaign. I read about child addicts and Senators demanding the death penalty for dope peddlers. It didn't sound right to me. Who wants kids fr customers? They never have enough money and they always spill under questioning. Parents find out the kid is on junk and go to the law. I figured that either Stateside peddlers have gone simple-minded or the whole child-addict set-up is a propaganda routine to stir up anti-junk sentiment and pass some new laws.
Refugee hipsters trickled into Mexico. "Six months for needle marks under the vag-addict law in California." "Eight years for a dropper in Washington." "Two to ten for selling in New York."' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953

Cannabis and the Medical Industry

https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/11/cannabis-and-medical-industry.html

With no scientific basis global drug laws are invalid
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/with-no-scientific-basis-global-drug.html

A Look At The NDPS Act 1985 From A Cannabis Perspective
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-look-at-ndps-act-1985-from-cannabis.html

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