http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/14532916.htm

Posted on Tue, May. 09, 2006


MEXICOLawmakers continue to push drug bill
Despite the U.S. government's fear that 'drug tourism' could result, lawmakers in Mexico continue to push for a drug decriminalization bill.
BY IOAN GRILLO
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY - Mexican lawmakers pledged Monday to keep pushing for a drug decriminalization bill criticized by the United States, and said they could override President Vicente Fox's veto of the measure.

Fox sent the proposal, which would drop criminal charges for possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin, back to Congress last week with suggestions for changes after U.S. authorities warned it could result in ''drug tourism'' to Mexico.

But Congressional leader Rep. Eliana García said Congress, which approved the bill last month, would only be open to clarifying the law, not changing its spirit.

''If the changes [suggested by Fox] are in spirit of the bill, they are welcome,'' García, of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, said at a news conference. ''But if they scrap the work we have done during one and a half years, we will have no problem in getting the vote of two-thirds'' needed for an override in the lower house.

''The international policy to combat drugs has failed because it has focused on repression and not prevention,'' García said.

Despite its approval by both of Mexico's houses of Congress, Fox on Wednesday sent the bill back to lawmakers to ask for corrections ``to make it absolutely clear in our country, the possession of drugs and their consumption are, and will continue to be, a criminal offense.''

The move followed pressure from U.S. officials who feared the law's effect on the anti-drug fight and on young Americans traveling to Mexico.

García said lawmakers still hope to persuade Fox to sign the bill; overriding the veto would require a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the lower house.

Legislators from all major parties, including Fox's own conservative National Action Party, have voiced support for the proposal, which they say would allow police to focus on going after the big drug dealers and traffickers rather than wasting time prosecuting small-time users.

The new bill would also empower state and local police -- not just federal officers -- to hunt down dealers, stiffen some penalties and close loopholes that dealers had long used to escape prosecution.

''It's a reform to combat drug dealing. That is the principal objective,'' said Rep. Claudia Ruíz Massieu of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which has the largest block in both houses.

However, some legislators have said that Congress may have made a mistake by including a decriminalization of small amounts for all ''consumers,'' instead of just known addicts or first-time offenders, groups that qualify for leniency under current laws.

The new bill would eliminate criminal penalties against anybody, addict or not, found in possession of up to 25 milligrams of heroin, 5 grams of marijuana (about one-fifth of an ounce, or about four joints) or 0.5 grams of cocaine -- the equivalent of about four ``lines.''

The legislation was drawn up with contributions from several government agencies including the health and public safety departments.

García said it was worrying to see Fox bow to U.S. pressure on the bill. ''We have to solve this problem that is affecting many sections of our society,'' she said.