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AP - U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske says he will adopt a "wait-and-see attitude" on a new Mexican drug law that many see as effectively decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs including marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

President Felipe Calderon has proposed requiring mandatory treatment for those caught with "personal-use" amounts of drugs.

But a bill approved by Mexico's Congress before it recessed in late April recommends voluntary treatment programs. Mandatory treatment would not kick in until a third offense.

"I guess if I was looking at it strictly from our viewpoint, the use of the government as a strong sanction is often pretty helpful in getting people into treatment," said Kerlikowske, who heads the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy. "If the sanction becomes completely nonexistent I think that would be a concern, but I actually didn't read quite that level of de-facto (decriminalization) in the law."

"I would actually give this a bit of a wait and see attitude," said Kerlikowske. "I've always found about laws, whether they've been enacted by states or our own federal government, is that it is the application and the use of the law and how it's actually done" are key.

Whether the law's proposed sanctions "are actually enough or not, I'm not sure," he said.

In 2006, the U.S. government publicly criticized a similar bill that then-President Vicente Fox had supported. Fox later backtracked under the pressure and asked Congress to reconsider the decriminalization provisions.

Calderon has not yet signed this year's bill, and administration officials won't say whether he plans to.

But if the president does not act by September, the bill could automatically become law, and opposition parties in Congress have enough votes to override any objections Calderon might make to the new law.

The bill would exempt from criminal prosecution those possessing five grams of marijuana, half a gram of cocaine or 50 milligrams of heroin.


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Yes, I am holding my breath until the US adopts a similar policy...

Recently, the city of Oakland passed the first law providing for taxation of medical marijuana. The guy behind that campaign has announced that he will move forward with a ballot measure that would decriminalize small amounts of pot, including the right to grow one's own. Most recent surveys show that over 50% of Californians are in favor or legalization, taxation and control. Given the fact that the average Californian has yet to feel the effects of the new budget, we may be approaching a perfect storm for reform. Given the Federal Government's inflexible position on pot, it seems obvious to me, such as with gay marriage, the states are going to have to be the leaders.