Mexico
Overview of drug policies, drug law and legislative trends in Mexico
Mexico is one of the Latin American countries that has borne the highest costs from the War on Drugs, which has led to high rates of violence, corruption in state institutions, and the increased power of organised crime. As in neighbouring countries, the implementation of prohibitionist drug laws in Mexico has raised the number of people imprisoned for minor drug offences. This page summarises the latest developments in the debate on drug law and drug policy in Mexico.
- What are the current trends regarding drug laws in Mexico?
- What are the current drug laws in Mexico?
- What reform proposals and reforms to the drug laws have recently occurred in the country?
- How have drug laws impacted the prison situation in the country?
- What does the law say about drug use? Is it a crime in Mexico?
- Is there compulsory treatment for dependent drug users? Are there drug courts in Mexico?
- The market for the main psychoactive drugs circulating in Mexico City
- How does Mexico positions itself in the international debate on drug policy?
- What role has civil society played in the debate on drugs?
- Relevant drug laws and policy documents in the country
For the latest news on drug law reform in Mexico click here.
1. What are the current trends regarding drug laws in Mexico?
Large sectors of civil society and public opinion, together with a number of former high-level government officials, have openly proposed that recreational substances be legalised in Mexico. These voices rose up in response to the violence between players in the drug trade and the measures intended to control it, especially during the six-year government of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012). Violence and crime rates remain high in the country, however, and the same arguments are still being put forcefully, although less so under the current president Enrique Peña Nieto than under his predecessor.
Although the federal government has not yet shown any inclination towards decriminalising the possession and use of drugs in small quantities, recent developments elsewhere may now encourage Mexico to move towards regulating the marijuana market. Public opinion in Mexico has been strongly influenced by the legalisation of cannabis for recreational purposes in a growing number of states in the US and the regulation of the cannabis market in Uruguay. The debate that began in 2013 on legalising cannabis in Mexico City is now seeking reforms and more effective policy approaches. Read more about progress in the debate on marijuana in Mexico City.
Nevertheless, when it comes to legalisation, public opinion remains rather conservative. Decriminalisation of cannabis has the support of only 37% of the Mexican population, and a recent study by Asuntos del Sur shows that only 32% of the population agree with Uruguay’s cannabis policy.
There are some indications of a positive shift of public and political opinion regarding cannabis regulation in Mexico, due variously to the evolving international outlook towards cannabis policy, the studies on regulating its market and use, the boom in cannabis social clubs in several countries, and the domestic debate on legalising marijuana, especially with respect to Mexico City.
2. What are the current drug laws in Mexico?
The bulk of existing drug legislation in Mexico is formed by stipulations in the General Health Act and the 1994 reforms to the Federal Criminal Code. An important change introduced by these reforms was separating narcotics (and the range of crimes related to them) into distinct articles. Sentences were increased to between 10 and 25 years for the production, transportation, trafficking, sale and supply of drugs. Sentences were reduced, however, for planting, cultivating and harvesting drug crops for the purpose of consumption. In a significant change from earlier legislation, the act states that:
“proceedings will not be initiated against a person who is not a drug addict and who is detained for the first time in possession of a quantity of narcotics included in Article 193 and when the quantity is determined to be for personal consumption [and] no penalty will be applied to drug addicts who possess narcotics listed in Article 193 strictly for personal consumption.”
The Federal Law Against Organised Crime was approved in 1996, exponentially increasing sentences for any crime committed as part of a criminal conspiracy. This law also established the notion of "preventative detention", which was later incorporated into Mexico’s constitution in 2008. It allows for detention of up to 80 days without an arrest warrant or charge, thus allowing individuals to be detained solely on the basis of being suspected of having links to organised crime.
Although the crimes and associated sentences defined in the 1990s remain on the statute books, a change in the law in August 2009 means that they have since only been applied in cases involving wholesale trafficking. This law for small-scale selling of drugs reformed Article 478 of the General Health Act and was adopted by parliament in April 2009 and implemented on 21 August the same year. It eliminated all penalties for personal drug consumption up to the following amounts: 5g of marijuana, 2g of opium, 500mg of cocaine, 50mg of heroin or 40mg of methamphetamines. It also stipulated that addicts can only be subjected to obligatory treatment after their third arrest for a drug-related crime, and increased the sentences for a range of crimes, including sale of drugs to minors or selling near schools.
The quantities permitted for personal consumption are very low, and the law could imply lengthy jail terms for anyone caught with amounts above these limits. This is because they may be considered small-scale traffickers, even where there is no indication that the quantities they possess are for sale.
The law for small-scale selling of drugs also set the threshold for trafficking prosecutions at one thousand times the maximum amount allowed for personal consumption. This could result in ‘drug mules’ who swallow capsules containing more than 500g of cocaine or more than 50g of heroin, for example, being tried as large-scale traffickers subject to the harshest sentences.
3. What reform proposals and reforms to the drug laws have recently occurred in the country?
Since the mid-2000s, a number of bills relating to marijuana policy have been presented in Mexico, including five at the federal level (four in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate) and two at the local and state level (one in the Federal District Legislative Assembly and one in the Mexico State Congress). In addition, Congressman Fernando Belaunzarán (PRD) introduced a bill in November 2012 intended to introduce permits to allow the growing of marijuana for personal consumption. The latest bill is still not introduced into Mexico City parliament, but limited the regulation of cannabis to therapeutic uses, and was discussed by parliament commission in March 2014 without finding consensus.
This document summarizes the most important legislative proposals and statements relating to changing drug laws and policies in the country between 2006 and 2012.
7 November 2012: voters in three states in the US approve marijuana consumption, two of them for recreational purposes. This has immediate consequences on Mexico’s plans for cannabis regulation. Foreign Relations Minister Jorge Castañeda says that President Peña Nieto should re-examine his anti-narcotics strategy. Shortly after the vote in the US, Fernando Belauzarán Méndez (PRD) presents a bill to Congress to regulate the production, distribution, sale and consumption of marijuana, alongside a strategy proposal for combatting drug addiction. The bill calls for permits for planting marijuana for personal consumption, allowing up to five plants. Marijuana distribution centres will not be authorised for locations near schools. The Health Department will issue licences to sell marijuana. Congressman Belaunzarán speaks at a debate on legalisation.
2013: At the legislative assembly, several members of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) announce a push for decriminalisation of marijuana use in Mexico City. Legislator Vidal Llerenas explains that the objective is to regulate consumer groups so that they have safe places for medical examinations and sufficient information about the risks of consumption. The president of the Chamber of Deputies Francisco Arroyo (PRI) offers his support to the proposal. PRD Senator Mario Delgado announces that the party will soon start formally analyse the possible legalisation of marijuana consumption. The process will involve the participation of legislators, doctors, experts and consumers, with the aim of producing a bill in the next parliamentary session that starts in September.
August 2013: The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Francisco Arroyo Vieyra (PRI) speaks out in favour of regulating production, marketing and consumption of marijuana.
February 2014: Local PRD parliamentarians in Mexico City hold wide-ranging discussions well into 2014 with civil society organisations and academics about the initiative to regulate cannabis in this Federal District.
13 February 2014: Mexico City presents separate bills to the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District and to the Federal Congress of Mexico. Their aim is to decriminalise possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use. The initiative presented to the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District also seeks to separate the cannabis market and the market for other illicit substances, and to reduce harm caused by drugs by introducing a harm-reduction information system. The initiative focuses on health protection, prevention and treatment rather than law enforcement impacting on users. The bill submitted to the Federal House of Representative aims to reform federal laws in order to increase the current quantity thresholds for legal cannabis possession from 5g to 30g, allow prescription of medical cannabis, and decentralise decision-making powers on drug policy to the state level. This is the text of the initiative. See also this infographic quick explaining the initiative.
4. How have drug laws impacted the prison situation in the country?
Mexico’s drug legislation has created two major trends: increased prison population and criminalisation of consumers and small-scale vendors. This is due in part to the fact that the maximum quantities allowable under the law for consumption are lower than the amount possessed by the average drug user. Tougher sentencing and stricter application of the law for drug-related crimes has led to a significant increase in the prison population in general, and in the number of people incarcerated without a sentence. The majority of those jailed on drug-related charges come from poor and marginalised segments of society and have little or no education. In addition, 50 per cent of the people in prison for drug-related crimes were in possession of quantities with a low street value, usually less than $100.
See the chapter on Mexico in the study on drugs and jails published by WOLA and TNI.
Over the last decade, there has been an increase in the number of female inmates, with drug-related crimes the primary reasons. Forty-eight per cent of women in prison are incarcerated on drug related-charges, while 43 per cent of indigenous women in jail are there for the same crime. The chart below has been extracted from the study "Disproportionality and crimes against health in Mexico," by Catalina Pérez Correa:
CIDE Researcher Catalina Pérez Correa writes that:
"Between 2006 and 2011, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, there were 136,946 people detained for consumption and 249,629 detained for possession of drugs (and given the low quantities established in the law for consumption, we can assume this includes a high number of consumers). In other words, nearly 400,000 people were detained in five years for consumption and possession."
Another study by the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, CIDE) claims that, over the course of his presidency: "President Felipe Calderón … squandered resources in the area of procuring justice in cases that do not reduce violence, above all because it has been focused on drug users and low-profile vendors."
The cite comes from research that was part of a project of the Collective for Drugs and Law Studies (Colectivo de Estudios Drogas y Derecho – CEDD). The researchers demonstrated that:
"80 per cent of sentences for crimes against health, in addition to being excessive, were often applied to consumers and low-profile vendors and not criminals who commit violent acts or another criminal conduct, such as drug trafficking or money laundering."
In October 2014 a Guanajuato District Judge issued a ruling declaring the imprisonment for simple possession unconstitutional.
5. What does the law say about drug use? Is it a crime in Mexico?
It is not a crime to use psychoactive substances in Mexico, but possession of a drug for the purpose of using it is classified as a crime. Even so, possession does not carry a prison sentence if the quantity held does not exceed the upper limits established by the Guidance Table (see below), and providing the person is not carrying drugs in the places stipulated in Article 475 of the General Health Law (schools, prisons, etc).
6. Is there compulsory treatment for dependent drug users? Are there drug courts in Mexico?
In Mexico, where carrying very small amounts of drugs for personal use is decriminalised, if a person is caught more than twice with the permitted amount, they can be sent into compulsory rehabilitation programmes. [See p.1 of this IDPC document on compulsory rehabilitation in Latin America]
A new law passed in Mexico now makes possible the creation of drug courts for the treatment of addictions nationwide. Here researcher Catalina Pérez explains the implications of these drug courts.
In Mexico drug courts only exist in the state of Nuevo León, where they are called “courts for the treatment of addictions”. People who are arrested for the first time for committing a crime while under the influence of drugs or alcohol can participate in this programme. If the person agrees to be referred for treatment, their trial is suspended. The first Court for the Treatment of Addictions was set up in 2009 in the criminal court in Guadalupe, and another has been operating since November 2012 in the criminal court in San Nicolás.
Additionally when an individual is arrested in possession of a quantity of narcotics equal to or below the limit set by the Guidance Table, the Public Prosecutor will send a report to the health authority stating that criminal proceedings will not be brought and asking it to instead provide medical care or prevention counselling. If this report has to be issued for a third time, the person will be sent for compulsory treatment.
According to this document published in July 2013 by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the organisation is working with the Center for Court Innovation on a diagnostic study of the drug treatment court operating in Monterrey, Nuevo León. More on the Nuevo Leon, Drug Treatment Courts.
OAS Supports Expansion of Drug Treatment Courts in Mexico.
7. The market for the main psychoactive drugs circulating in Mexico City
A study on the market for illegal drugs in Mexico City entitled Drogas DF. Los mercados de drogas ilícitas en la Ciudad de México concludes that the market comprises approximately 85,000 users. Of these, 85 per cent are marijuana users, 7 per cent use amphetamines, and 4 per cent use cocaine or crack. The study also found an increase in the number of women, especially young women, who use drugs. Users spend an average of $21.53 per week on drugs. Multiplying this average by the size of the market (85,000 users) indicates a total market value of approximately US$96 million per year. The table below is drawn from the same study.
8. How does Mexico positions itself in the international debate on drug policy?
As one of the countries hardest hit by drug trafficking and the war on drugs, in 1993 Mexico pushed an initiative that would later become known as the UNGASS of 1998. Its objective was to hold an international conference within the framework of the United Nations to discuss aspects of global policies on drugs. Issues on the table included: the need to review international conventions on drugs and their classification of cannabis and coca; options for decriminalisation; and practices for harm reduction that some European countries had started to explore. Mexico was suggesting that there were better ways of dealing with drug-related problems than those imposed by the United States.
1993: the Mexican government sends a letter concerning control of drugs to the Secretary General of the UN. It has a major impact and sets the stage for a special, high-level session of the General Assembly to discuss the world drug problem. Mexico says in the letter that there needs to be great emphasis on the demand side, because “drug consumption is the driving force that generates drug production and trafficking”. It also strongly criticises US anti-drug operations on Mexican territory and the US government’s unilateral certification mechanism. It attacks “attempts to impose hegemony” and calls for a “balanced approach to be taken seriously”.
1998: Mexico’s proposal for the agenda becomes reality at the UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs (UNGASS). Unfortunately, the assembly ends by reconfirming the prohibitionist approach and the rigidity of existing policies – precisely those issues that Mexico was questioning. During the conference, Mexico and Colombia express their frustration about the inherent imbalances in the international control system of drugs, with the result that several “responsibilities of the north” are incorporated as important elements in UNGASS 1998’s Political Declaration and Plan of Action. They include demand reduction, money laundering, chemical inputs, synthetic drugs and financing for alternative development.
September 2012: President Felipe Calderón uses his speech at the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York to ask member nations to undertake a “serious analysis” of the prohibitionist slant on drug consumption.
October 2012: the presidents of Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia sends a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asking the United Nations to lead a discussion to search for solutions using new and more effective approaches.
See the Presidents’ joint declaration.
November 2012: At a meeting with several Central American presidents, Felipe Calderón asks the Organisation of American States (OAS) “to undertake a serious analysis of the impact the legalisation of marijuana would have on the region.” He also asks the OAS to provide as quickly as possible the hemispheric study of drugs requested by the countries participating in the previous Summit of the Americas.
16 and 17 November 2012: At the conclusion of the Iberian-American Summit held in the Cádiz, President Calderón and all the other presidents of the region express in the Declaration of Cádiz their support for:
“a special session of the U.N. General Assembly on the world problem of drugs, to be held no later than 2015, with the goal of evaluating the successes and limitations of current policies to address this problem, particularly the violence caused by the production, trafficking and consumption of drugs in the world.”
January 2013: Mexico is the sole Latin American country to object to Bolivia's proposal on the coca leaf. This was an unexpected move from the new Mexican government of President Enrique Peña Nieto, which had up to that point endorsed the debate and the changes in drug policy.
4 to 6 June 2013: At the 43rd General Assembly of the OAS in Antigua, Guatemala, the Mexican delegation stresses the need to prevent crime and consumption and not to criminalise consumers "in some cases". Mexico is among a group of countries proposing to convene a UN General Assembly Special Session to continue the dialogue on tackling the drug problem. The proposal is approved unanimously. It is finally decided an UNGASS will be held in March 2016.
October 2013: At the Ibero-American Summit held in Panama, President Peña Nieto says he is open to engaging in a continent-wide debate to address the problem of drug use and trafficking: “My government has stated that it opposes the legalisation of drugs, but we are entirely open to the idea of holding a wide-ranging debate at the continental level, not just in Mexico, which will allow us to evaluate and review what is going on today in our continent and in the world as a whole.” In an interview given to El País in June 2014 Peña Nieto explains the need for a debate on cannabis regulation: “.., marihuana legalization is an emerging phenomenon. Our take and question to ourselves is to revise and sit down and discuss the issue, revising the policies followed the past 30 to 40 years that have only given us more drug consumption and production. For this reason these policies have failed. That needs to be revised.
Intervention of Mexico during the Special Segment in preparation for the UNGASS 2016, the 58th Session of the CND, March 9, 2015. And, Mexico's ambassador to the UN, Jorge Montaño, spoke in favor of "international regulation and free use of marijuana for recreational purposes."
9. What role has civil society played in the debate on drugs?
Mexico has suffered such a bloody war on drugs that there are numerous voices in civil society advocating policy changes. Some of the most prominent recent initiatives include:
- The caravan for peace led by Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, which travelled through the US in August and September 2012 before arriving in Washington to ask President Obama to take responsibility for the war against drugs unleashed in Mexico and to consider drug policy reforms. “The United States has caused us a great deal of harm,” said the poet.
- The decreased levels of security have extended to sectors of society previously believed to be beyond the reach of drug policy impacts. An important sector of the business community in the state of Monterrey – one of the richest states in the country, which until recently was spared organised crime violence – supports regulation and monitoring of the cannabis market as the first step toward the complete regulation of other substances;
- A national movement of cannabis users in Mexico has been gaining ground and visibility in the last ten years. They have been honing their demands, which include decriminalisation of cannabis use and growing it for personal use in order to distance it from organised crime. The Collective for a Comprehensive Drug Policy (CuPIHD) recently proposed the creation of cannabis social clubs in Mexico city;
- Former President Vicente Fox favoured “legalisation of the production, sale, and distribution of drugs … striking at and breaking the economic structure” of the cartels. Various left-wing groupings, academics, high-ranking government authorities and journalists agreed that it was time to legalise cannabis.
- In January 2014, members of the users’ movement the Marijuana Liberation Front of Artists and Organisations assembled outside the Senate to gather signatures in support of legalising cannabis use. The petition was delivered to the Federal District’s Parliamentary Assembly (ALDF).
- In February 2014, four Latin American former presidents – Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico), Ricardo Lagos (Chile), Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil) and César Gaviria (Colombia) – gave their support to the proposed regulation of cannabis in Mexico City. Major human rights NGOs also backed the project.
10. Relevant drug laws and policy documents in the country
Legislative and Government Documents
- Ley General de Salud
- Código Penal Federal
- Ley Federal contra la Deliincuencia Organizada
- Ley de Narcomenudeo
Studies, surveys and other documents
- Critical reflections on the National Addiction Surveys (ENAs) in Mexico - Informa Health Care, UK - By: Beatriz Caiuby Labate and Pamela Ruiz Flores López, July 2014
- Illegal Drugs Markets in Mexico City - Cuadernos CUPIDH 6 Colectivo para una Política Integral hacia las Drogas. By: Carlos Zamudio Angles, 2013
- Mujeres, delitos de drogas y sistemas penitenciarios en América Latina, IDPC. Por: Corina Giacomello, Octubre de 2013
- Mexico: Drug policy and security in the first six months of the Enrique Peña Nieto administration, IDPC Briefing Paper, by Corina Giacomello, August 2013
- Encuesta Nacional de Adicciones 2011. Drogas ilícitas - Comisión Nacional contra las Adicciones CONADIC, CENADIC, and other institutions, 2012
- Other CONADIC publications
- Publications by Centro Nacional para la Prevención y el Control de la Adicciones CENADIC
- (Des)proporcionalidad y delitos contra la salud en México - CIDE Documento de Trabajo No. 59. Por: Catalina Pérez Correa, Karen Silva y Carlos de la Rosa - 2012
- Primera encuesta de usuarios de drogas ilegales en la Ciudad de México, Colectivo para una Política Integral hacia las Drogas CUPIDH, Octubre 2012
- Mariguana DF. El mercado y sus dimensiones: una propuesta para usuarios y autoridades, Cuadernos CUPIDH 5. Por Carlos Zamudio Angles and Jorge Hernández Tinajero, 2012
- Otras publicaciones de CUPIDH
- Biblioteca de la organización espolea.org
For the latest news on drug law reform in Mexico click here
