Mexico Did Not Legalize Drugs

And neither did the UK. But that's not stopping those opposing California's Proposition 19 from lying about it on television (either they're lying or they know so little about drug policy, they actually believe it to be true).

First, Jane Hamsher went on CNN to discuss the campaign alongside No on Prop 19 spokesman, Tim Rosales. Rosales claims, "They've tried it in Mexico, uh, they've seen an explosion in drug violence..."

First of all, Mexico has never legalized marijuana. What they have done is decriminalize the personal possession of small amounts of all drugs. Decriminalization is not legalization. Furthermore, decriminalization was a response to the explosion of drug violence that was already occurring thanks to drug prohibition here in the U.S. and was intended to allow law enforcement to focus more on cartels than users. Rosales goes on to say that legalization would give cartels a platform to sell marijuana. Scott Morgan easily debunks that statement over at the Speakeasy blog.

Then there is the Bishop Ron Allen from Sacramento, California who SSDP's Aaron Houston had the pleasure of debating. The Bishop has more difficulty keeping his composure and controlling the words that come out of his mouth than Rosales did. He claims that both Mexico and the UK have tried legalizing all drugs - something that would probably surprise the UK chapters of SSDP.

This is all pretty basic information. You don't need to be a sociologist or policy wonk to find out whether or not entire countries like Mexico or the UK have legalized drugs. But I guess the requirements for managing an anti-legalization campaign or becoming a spokesperson against sensible drug policy reform are pretty low. You just have to be a good liar or a raving lunatic.

Stop lying about Prop 19 and marijuana legalization.