Pubdate: Mon, 22 Jun 2009
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
Copyright: 2009 St. Paul Pioneer Press
Contact:  http://www.twincities.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/379
Author: Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times

QUIET VOTE ADVANCES PLAN TO DECRIMINALIZE SOME DRUGS IN MEXICO

MEXICO CITY -- Could Mexican cities become Latin Amsterdams, flooded by
drug users seeking penalty-free tokes and toots?

That is the fear, if somewhat overstated, of some Mexican officials,
especially in northern border states that serve as a mecca for
underage American drinkers.

The Mexican legislature has voted quietly to decriminalize the
possession of small amounts of pot, cocaine, methamphetamine and other
drugs, an effort that in the past was highly controversial.

There has been less protest this time around, in part because there
has been little publicity.

Some critics have suggested easing the punishment on drug possession
sends the wrong message at a time when President Felipe Calderon is
waging a bloody war on major narcotics traffickers. The battle between
law enforcement authorities and drug suspects has claimed more than
11,000 lives in the last 2 1/2 years.

But it was Calderon who proposed the decriminalization
legislation.

His reasoning: It makes sense to distinguish between small-time users
and big-time dealers, while targeting major crime-fighting resources
toward the latter and their drug lord bosses.

"The important thing is ... that consumers are not treated as
criminals," said Rafael Ruiz Mena, secretary general of the National
Institute of Penal Sciences. "It is a public health problem, not a
penal problem."

The legislation was approved at the height of a swine-flu outbreak in
Mexico that dominated the public's and the world's, attention. Meeting
at times behind closed doors -- the better to prevent the spread of
disease, officials said -- the lower and upper houses of Congress
passed the bill on the last days of April. It awaits Calderon's signature.

The bill says users caught with small amounts -- 5 grams of marijuana,
500 milligrams of cocaine -- clearly intended for "personal and
immediate use" will not be criminally prosecuted. They will be told of
available clinics, and encouraged to enter a rehabilitation program.

As many as 40 milligrams of methamphetamine are permitted, as are as
many as 50 milligrams of heroin.

Three years ago, in May of 2006, then-President Vicente Fox, from
Calderon's right-wing party, vetoed a similar bill that Congress had
approved and that he initially had supported. He backed down only
under pressure from Washington, D.C., where the Bush administration
complained that decriminalization for even small amounts could
increase drug use.

But with less than a month to go before critical mid-term elections in
which his party is struggling to maintain control of Congress,
Calderon cannot afford to be seen as bowing to the United States,
analysts say. He can't suddenly go back on his own bill.

And so, political observers say, he probably will sign the bill into
law.

So far, the U.S. government has not publicly objected to the
legislation. Michele Leonhart, the acting director of the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration, however, said in April that legalization
of drugs "would be a failed law enforcement strategy for both the U.S.
and Mexico."

The decriminalization legislation has received criticism from
religious leaders and several officials of northern border states, who
fear that so-called "drug tourists" will begin flocking to towns and
cities already besieged by violence.

"Allowing the carrying of certain amounts of drugs will create more
consumers," said Oscar Villalobos Chavez, social development secretary
for the State of Chihuahua, which borders Texas. 
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