LEGALIZING POT COULD HELP JUAREZ, OFFICIALS SAY

EL PASO -- A new drug war, this one over whether marijuana
legalization would help or hinder Juarez, got under way Monday.

City Reps. Beto O'Rourke and Susie Byrd called a news conference to
say they believe reforming drug laws and legalizing marijuana would
help reduce violence in Mexico.

O'Rourke and Byrd, joined at the Paso del Norte Bridge by fellow city
Reps. Steve Ortega and Ann Morgan Lilly, displayed a declaration in
support of Juarez.

Oscar J. Martinez, a history professor and border expert at the
University of Arizona, read from the group's resolution.

"Those who think they have the moral high ground by supporting
prohibition are not giving proper attention to the disastrous
consequences of that tragically misguided policy," said Martinez, a
native of Juarez.

"The cure has been much more deadly than the disease itself. The
price of prohibition - turning cities like Juarez into killing fields
of massive proportions - is totally unacceptable and morally repugnant."

Others in public life disagreed with the City Council members,
describing their idea as counterproductive.

"Legalizing marijuana in the U.S. will make things worse in Mexico,"
said Jaime O. Perez, El Paso County chief of staff and the Republican
candidate for county judge. "The violence will increase in Juarez.
Even the smaller cartels will try to get into the business, and they
will try to control the drug-trafficking corridors and kill more people.

"Legalization will also ensure spillover violence into El Paso," Perez said.

Retired DEA official Sandalio Gonzalez and state Sen. Eliot
Shapleigh, D-Texas, agreed with Perez that legalizing marijuana was
no solution to the border problems of drug-trafficking and violence.

"There is no evidence that I know of to suggest that marijuana is the
cause of all the drug-related violence in Mexico or anywhere else,"
Gonzalez said. "You still have cocaine, heroin and meth to deal with.
I don't see the logic in the argument that legalizing one drug will
take care of the problem."

Shapleigh issued a statement saying: "While debate on legalization is
critical to better strategies and informed democracy, I do not
believe legalization is the answer. We should reduce drug demand with
better education and rehabilitation programs here in the U.S. and
focus now on practical applications of 'Beyond Merida' to deal with
violence in Juarez today."

The Merida Initiative is a $1.3 billion U.S. assistance package for
training and equipment to help Mexico fight drug cartels.

Shapleigh said President Barack Obama and Mexico's president, Felipe
Calderon, may announce initiatives intended to improve life in the
border region during their meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C,

Byrd said Monday's gathering at the bridge, which also attracted
college students, academics and activists from West Texas and
Southern New Mexico, was a call to action. She asked supporters to
sign the declaration at www.drugwar40.wordpress.com and contact U.S.
federal lawmakers and Obama before Wednesday's White House state
dinner with Calderon (www.whitehouse.gov/contact).

The group conducted its news conference at a border crossing where
U.S. federal officers routinely seize drugs and arrest suspected drug dealers.

State Rep. Marisa Marquez, D-El Paso, said she did not advocate the
use of drugs, but stood with those favoring marijuana legalization.

"I was there to support this new resolution because it calls for us
to recognize the dignity of the people getting killed in Juarez. We
cannot overlook the civil rights violations and atrocities
occurring," she said.

More than 5,150 people have been murdered in Juarez since 2008.
Mexican authorities attributed most of the violence to the
drug-cartel wars. According to Mexican officials, the Juarez homicide
rate is 139.2 per 100,000 population, compared with Chihuahua's
statewide rate of 97.5 per 100,000 and Mexico's rate of 11.6 per 100,000.

"You have the deadliest city in the world on one side of the bridge
and the second-safest city in the U.S. on the other," O'Rourke said
of Juarez and El Paso.

The debate on marijuana legalization is not limited to the Texas-Mexico border.

In November, voters in California will decide whether to legalize
marijuana in that state. If approved, the initiative would permit
people who are 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of pot for personal use.

Staff writers Ramon Bracamontes and Marty Schladen contributed to this story.