MEXICO BLASTS TREND TO LEGALIZING DRUGS

The Attorney General Warns Canada And Others Against Any Move Toward
Drug Decriminalization.

MONTREAL -- Canada and other members of the Organization of American States
must reject the trend to legalize drugs in order to better fight drug abuse
and trafficking, Mexico's attorney general warned yesterday. But Wayne
Easter, Canada's solicitor general, insisted Ottawa's plans to
decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana do not clash with
Canada's participation in an international drug conference this week in
Montreal.

Easter was responding to an opening address by Rafael Macedo de la Concha,
Mexico's attorney general and outgoing chair of the OAS Inter-American Drug
Abuse Control Commission.

Macedo de la Concha said the organization, which promotes better
co-operation in addressing drug abuse, production, trafficking and related
issues such as money laundering and firearms trafficking, must be
continuously strengthened to be effective.

"Rejecting drug trafficking and preventing drug consumption without
allowing its legal or controlled consumption is a form to do that," Macedo
de la Concha said.

Canada's proposed bill would decriminalize marijuana for any users caught
with less than 15 grams and would give them fines of $100 to $400.

But there would be an array of penalties to counter an escalation in
marijuana-grow houses run by organized crime, with the maximum sentence
being doubled to 14 years.

The bill technically died when Parliament shut down this month but it is
expected to be reintroduced and perhaps amended at a later date.

Easter said the new law would not make pot more socially acceptable.

"We've recognized we do have a problem with marijuana in this country and
the current laws are not working, the current penalties are not uniform
across the country," Easter said.

Following his speech, Macedo de la Concha told reporters he was not taking
specific aim at Canada.

"I fully respect the decisions of the Canadian government," he said.

"But . . . with the problem my country is experiencing, I have expressed
that I don't agree with the legalization of drugs."

The assistant secretary general of the OAS said the organization must
respect the political positions of its members and focus on how countries
can better co-operate.

"If I understood the Canadian minister's presentation it's not a question
of decriminalization," said Luigi Einaudi.

"It's to try to find a way to make the programs work better while focusing
on limited resources to try to avoid having these drugs easily obtained."