Pubdate: Fri, 05 May 2006
Source: USA Today (US)
Page: 8A
Copyright: 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Danna Harman, USA TODAY
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Mexico (Mexico)

MEXICAN OFFICIALS SAY DRUG BILL MISINTERPRETED BY U.S.

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Vicente Fox said he wants lawmakers 
to clarify language in a controversial bill that would drop criminal 
penalties for small amounts of drugs, but his office on Thursday 
denied that he did so under U.S. pressure.

Fox sent the bill back to Mexico's Congress for revisions Wednesday.

The United States had objected to the legislation in talks with Fox's 
government. On Thursday, U.S. officials welcomed the move by the 
Mexican leader but said the idea to ask for changes was his. "This 
was Fox's own decision, 100%. He showed strong leadership," said Tom 
Riley, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug 
Control Policy. "Mexico is a good partner in the war against drugs."

Fox had previously backed the bill, which was intended to allow 
Mexican police to concentrate anti-narcotics efforts on dealers and 
drug lords and to prevent small-time drug users from clogging 
prisons. As recently as Tuesday, Fox spokesman Ruben Aguilar said the 
legislation was "an advance in combating narcotics trafficking" and 
would be signed by Fox today.

The bill would have turned the possession of small quantities of 
drugs -- up to 5 grams of marijuana, a gram of cocaine and limited 
amounts of heroin, Ecstasy, LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms and other 
drugs -- into crimes that don't require jail time. Offenders still 
would have faced other penalties, such as fines.

Eduardo Medina Mora, Mexico's top-ranking law enforcement officer as 
secretary of public security, said the law had been misinterpreted. 
It was intended to aid the drug war by diverting resources toward 
catching narcotics traffickers and punishing them more severely, he said.

U.S. officials met Wednesday with Mexico's ambassador to Washington 
and expressed concern that the law would encourage drug use by 
Mexicans and foreign tourists. "They urged (Mexico) to clarify the 
law so it would not make it attractive to those who would go to 
Mexico to use drugs," said Judith Bryan, a spokeswoman for the U.S. 
Embassy in Mexico City.

The bill made it through Mexico's Congress with little fanfare but 
quickly evoked outrage in the USA.

Critics said the legislation could bring about "drug tourism."

On Tuesday, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders described the legislation 
as "appallingly stupid" in a meeting with a Mexican diplomat, 
according to the Associated Press. Sanders warned that it would turn 
border cities such as Tijuana into versions of Amsterdam, where a 
youth drug culture has flourished around marijuana and hashish coffee shops.

Ron Brooks, president of the National Narcotic Officers' 
Associations' Coalition, said the bill "makes drugs more available to 
any vacationer to Mexico. Your kid goes down to party for a few days 
over spring break and comes back strung out."

Jorge Chabat, who studies the illegal drug trade as a researcher at 
the Center for Economic Research and Teaching in Mexico City, said 
it's clear that U.S. opposition influenced Fox. "Of course Fox was 
pressured. He probably thought to himself, 'In the midst of 
everything going on with immigration reform, I don't need a fight now 
with the U.S.,' " Chabat said.

It's unclear when Mexican lawmakers will review the bill and make any 
revisions.

Fox is set to leave office in September. Mexico holds presidential 
elections July 2. He is barred by the constitution from seeking another term.

In his statement, Fox said he wanted Congress to revise the bill "to 
make it absolutely clear that, in our country, the possession of 
drugs and their consumption are, and will continue to be, a criminal offense."

The bill, as written, would have given local and state police 
authority to make drug arrests, now a job for federal police. It also 
would have given Mexican states the right to jail offenders for up to 
48 hours and to immediately deport foreigners possessing drugs. 
Penalties for some offenses would have been increased.

In the past decade, Mexico has become the major transit and staging 
point for drug smuggling into the USA. Last year, more than 1,500 
people were killed in drug-related violence in Mexico as cartels 
battled for control of smuggling routes, Chabat said. 
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