MEXICO PASSES LAW MAKING POSSESSION OF SOME DRUGS LEGAL

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican lawmakers passed a sweeping new drug law early
Friday that would crack down on small-time dealers, legalize the
possession of small quantities of drugs and mandate treatment for addicts.

Under the bill, it would be legal to have 25 milligrams of heroin, a
fifth of an ounce of marijuana or half a gram of cocaine. The bill
also makes it legal to possess small amounts of LSD, hallucinogenic
mushrooms, amphetamines and peyote.

President Vicente Fox had proposed the law in January 2004 in the
hopes of slowing down the rapid growth in drug addiction and the
ranks of small-time dealers that has hit Mexican cities and towns in
recent years, just as it has long plagued American cities.

Both houses of the Mexican Congress passed it in a last-minute flurry
of legislation as their session drew to a close. The final version of
the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 53 to 26 during an all-night
session that ended Friday morning. After its final approval, the
president's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said Mr. Fox would sign it into law.

"This law gives police and prosecutors better legal tools to combat
drug crimes that do so much damage to our youth and children," Mr.
Aguilar said.

A United States Embassy official in Mexico deplored the new measure.
"We have not seen the text, so we cannot comment on it in detail,"
said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly. "But any
law that would decriminalize dangerous drugs would not be helpful."

Supporters of the bill said it was meant to fix major flaws in
Mexico's current drug laws. First, it will allow local judges and the
police to decide on a case-by-case basis whether people should be
prosecuted when caught with small amounts of drugs. Previously, every
drug suspect had to be prosecuted, a system that put many addicts in
jail while dealers went free after bribing officials.

Second, the state and local police will be empowered to arrest and
prosecute street dealers who are carrying more than the minor amounts
allowed under the law. Under existing laws, drug crimes were handled
only by federal officials.

The new measure also requires people caught with less than the legal
limits to go before a judge, prove they are addicts and seek treatment.

"We are not authorizing the consumption of drugs," said Senator Jorge
Zermino, the bill's sponsor in the Senate. "We are combating it and
recognizing that there are addicts that require special treatment. We
cannot close our eyes, nor fill our jails with addicts."

But opponents said the law would essentially legalize drug use and
lead to more drug abuse and so help drug dealers.

"Here we are authorizing drug use," said Senator Miguel Angel Navarro
of the Party of the Democratic Revolution. "Whether it's a little or
a lot, we are legalizing drug use. And I ask who is selling the
drugs? Is it now legal to sell drugs in the eyes of the authorities?
Clearly not."

The bill was approved as Mexico finds itself in the midst of a war
between rival drug cartels that has claimed hundreds of lives,
including dozens of police officers, particularly in the Texas border
town of Nuevo Laredo and along the Pacific Coast between Acapulco and
Zihuatanejo.

The violence has been only part of the social cost of the lucrative
drug trade here. Twenty years ago Mexico used to be a country through
which drugs passed on their way to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and
other major American cities.

These days, however, drug dealers and addicts have become more
numerous in border towns and big cities. The growing local market for
drugs has spurred higher levels of prostitution, robbery and burglary.

Local police forces have been hamstrung in their efforts to stop
street-level dealing. Lacking the training and authority to
investigate under the old law, they could arrest someone only if the
person was caught in the act of selling drugs. Only the federal
police could arrest someone for drug possession.

"The current law is unclear," said Jose Angelo Cordova, the chairman
of the health committee in the Chamber of Deputies. "If they don't
catch the person selling it, they can't charge them with a crime."