In León, Guanajuato, an average of 21 people are arrested everyday for crimes against health and more than 109,000 doses of drugs have been insured during this year, mostly marijuana with an 85%.
According to figures provided by the Ministry of Public Security (SSP), from January to October a total of 6,404 people would have been arrested, that is, an average of 21 a day for drugs possession for consumption and sale.
In Mexico, drug use is not penalized, however, its use and sale are. In 2016, President Enrique Peña Nieto, presented an initiative to decriminalize the possession of marijuana from 5 to 28 grams. In other countries such as Uruguay and Portugal, it is allowed to carry 40 and 25 grams respectively.
Drug bust in León, Gto. (Photo: Periodico Correo)
According to Article 479 of the General Health Law, this amount is allowed for its strict and immediate consumption in any of its forms, a bigger amount is considered as drug dealing, and can have a penalty of up to six years in prison, and this can be aggravated if this activity is carried out within a radius of 300 meters from a school.
According to the National Survey of Drug Use in Students (back in 2014), it was revealed that at least 713,963 teenagers in Mexico needed treatment for drug addiction.
In that year, Guanajuato registered at least 36,000 young people addicted to some substance, but that figure could have grown significantly in four years.
Until Tuesday November 20th, 2018; 109,258 doses of different types of drugs had been seized in León Guanajuato, (mostly marijuana) but also other illegal substances such as ‘crystal meth’ and cocaine.
San Miguel Times Newsroom with information from Periódico Correo
