MEXICAN DRUG INITIATIVE EASIER ON USERS, HARSHER ON DEALERS

President Plans Rehab for Addicts, Stiffer Penalties for Those Dealing

MEXICO CITY - Turning to Mexico's increasing narcotics consumption,
President Felipe Calderon has proposed stiffer penalties for
small-time drug dealers while suspending punishment for addicts who
agree to enter rehabilitation.

"Drugs are the slavery of this century," Calderon said in a speech
Friday. "Criminals seek to make slaves of children and youths. They
seek to place drugs, sometimes free of charge, in schools, in
neighborhoods, to create addictions, to generate dependency."

Calderon's initiative, part of a package of proposals aimed at
bolstering his offensive against the country's powerful drug
traffickers, also includes procedures for cleaning up Mexico's police
forces and getting them to better coordinate enforcement efforts.

The anti-addiction proposal resurrects the intent of his predecessor,
Vicente Fox, in pushing those apprehended with small amounts of
marijuana, cocaine and other illegal drugs to seek treatment.

"We want to distinguish clearly in the law between criminals who
poison our young and those who are only victims and suffer an
illness, an addiction," Calderon said Friday.

Fox vetoed a similar plan in May 2006 after a congressional version
of the initiative changed "addicts" into "consumers," sparking
concerns in Mexico and Washington that the government intended to
legalize drugs.

An Exploding Market

Drug consumption in Mexico has exploded since the 1990s when the
country's traffickers began to acquire more South American cocaine
than they could smuggle into the U.S. due to increased American
enforcement efforts.

A recent government study reports that the number of Mexican drug
addicts has nearly doubled to 307,000 since 2002. Another 4.5 million
Mexicans have used drugs at least once, according to the study.

Private addiction treatment specialist say those estimates are far too low.

"The government minimizes the problem. It's growing exponentially,"
said Regina Kuri, a spokeswoman for Clinica Claider, a treatment
facility in Mexico City's upscale San Angel neighborhood. "Lower
class, middle class, higher class: it's everyone. The drugs are
staying here in Mexico."

Calderon's proposal caps the quantities not subject to prosecution to
less than 2 grams of marijuana, half a gram of cocaine and 40
milligrams of methamphetamine believed for personal use.

The initiative stiffens street dealers' sentences for possession with
intent to distribute to up to eight years, plus fines. The penalty is
increased if the dealer is arrested in or near schools, sports
facilities or public parks.

Families Involved

Users arrested for a third time, or in or near schools, parks and
sports facilities will not be allowed to undergo treatment in lieu of
prosecution.

As drug use has grown, so has the business feeding it. In the past
year, police have arrested nearly 10,000 accused small-time drug
peddlers and seized 31 tons of marijuana and nearly a ton of cocaine,
according to a report sent to the Mexican Congress.

Police in violence-plagued cities complain that entire families have
become involved in selling drugs from front porches and neighborhood stores.

"People see a way to make easy money," Luis Carlos Vasquez, 39, a
police commander in Ciudad Juarez, across the Rio Grande from El
Paso, said. "There is no one teaching the children differently, so
they become gang members."

Calderon launched a crackdown on Mexico's powerful narcotics
smuggling gangs upon taking office in December 2006.