U.S. CAUTIOUS ON MEXICO DRUG MEASURE

MEXICO CITY -- The United States reacted cautiously on Saturday to a
Mexican measure that would make it legal to carry small amounts of
cocaine, heroin and other drugs for personal use.

News of the decriminalization did not make the front pages of any
major Mexico City newspaper, nor was it discussed in editorials. It
was slightly better publicized in the north of the country, where turf
wars between rival drugs gangs have caused hundreds of killings along
the Mexico-U.S. border, but was still overshadowed by news about
immigration.

President Vicente Fox has yet to sign the bill, which would eliminate
penalties for those caught with small amounts of some drugs, but his office
has applauded it.

Mexican lawmakers have said the bill will let authorities focus on
major drug traffickers and not clutter prisons with small-time offenders.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said Saturday the measure could
actually make it easier to prosecute drug crimes because it attempts
to "precisely specify the amount of narcotics in possession of a
suspect to allow a criminal prosecution."

"Preliminary information from Mexican legislative sources indicates
that the intent of the draft legislation is to clarify the 'small
amounts' of drugs for personal use as stated in current Mexican law,"
she said.

Mexican law already left open the possibility of dropping charges
against people caught with drugs if they are considered addicts and if
"the amount is the quantity necessary for personal use." The new bill
drops the "addict" requirement -- automatically letting any
"consumers" have drugs -- and sets out specific allowable quantities.

In Mexico City's stylish Zona Rosa neighborhood, Mexicans and tourists
alike were surprised to hear it could soon be legal to carry small
amounts of drugs.

Drug violence "will drop because there will be less pressure on the
people who consume drugs," said Francisco Garrido, who was selling
orange juice at a sidewalk stall.

But Berta Perez, an antique store owner, worried that drug sales would
bring young budget travelers and spook away well-heeled tourists.

If signed by Fox, purchasing drugs "would be like buying a cigarette
on the street," she said.

Washington has long praised the Fox administration for its anti-drug
efforts.

Since the president took office in December 2000, several key drug
lords have been captured, including Benjamin Arellano Felix, the
suspected operations chief of a Tijuana-based drug gang bearing his
family's name, and Osiel Cardenas, the accused head of the Gulf
cartel, thought mainly to operate along Mexico's border with Texas.

Yet drug addiction is growing in Mexico, especially in border cities
like Tijuana.

John Morgan, a retired school psychologist visiting Mexico City from
Grand Junction, Colo., said it makes sense for the country to
decriminalize marijuana -- but that harder drugs maybe should not be
included.

"We have put people in jails for years for marijuana, something that
is probably less harmful than alcohol," he said. "But the list here is
a little too global, there are several classes of drugs which are
quite harmful."

Associated Press writer Alan Clendenning contributed to this
report.