The previous law punished drug possession of any amount with stiff jail sentences. The new law decriminalizes usage by emphasizing treatment for small-scale users, freeing up law enforcement to focus on violent drug traffickers, some officials say. The new law sets "personal use" limits of 5 grams for marijuana, one-half gram for cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.
The Security Executive Council encourages security executives to meet with their business leaders immediately to prepare their responses to this new law when it is enacted. “Pre-employment screening programs, drug testing programs, and safety programs of U.S. companies operating in Mexico have always operated on a zero tolerance policy for use or possession when it came to illegal drugs,” says Bob Hayes, Managing Director of the Security Executive Council. “How will companies respond to both enforcement and testing when the use and minimal possession are no longer illegal? Where blood alcohol content levels can be quickly tested and can define levels of impairment associated with the result, similar tests for impairment are not available for the decriminalized substances.”
Critical infrastructure sectors and U.S. business regulations are often highly dependent on a drug free workplace for improved safety and environmental protection. The transportation sector (e.g., pilots, ship captains and truck drivers), food sector and the energy sector including nuclear and offshore drilling, are highly regulated and will be significantly impacted when this law goes into effect. To complicate matters more it appears other countries are considering following Mexico’s lead such as Argentina and Portugal.
The Security Executive Council has posted a one-question poll survey in order to provide immediate benchmarking results and guidance on what will be impacted most in companies. In order to see the results, take the poll on the Security Executive Council website: (Sorry this poll has been discontinued). If members of the media would like information on the results or progress of the poll, they may contact Kathleen Kotwica at k2kotwica@secleader.com for immediate updates.
About the Security Executive Council
The Security Executive Council (www.securityexecutivecouncil.com) is a problem-solving research and services organization that involves a wide range of risk mitigation leaders. Its community includes forward-thinking practitioners, agencies, universities, NGOs, innovative solution providers, media companies and industry groups. Backed by a Faculty of more than 100 successful current and former security executives, the Council creates groundbreaking Collective Knowledge™ research, which is used as an essential foundation for its deliverables. The Council is the eminent voice on organizational risk mitigation leadership; its work has been widely cited in publications ranging from major security trade magazines to business publications such as Forbes and Harvard Business Review.
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