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Mexican drug initiative – Rehab for users, harsher penalties for dealers

A protester blows marijuana smoke in the face of a police officer during a march Thursday to mark the 1968 Tlatelolco Plaza massacre, when hundreds of students were gunned down 10 days before the Summer Olympics in Mexico City.Turning to Mexico’s increasing narcotics consumption, President Felipe Calderon has proposed stiffer penalties for small-time drug dealers while suspending punishment for addicts who agree to enter rehabilitation.

“Drugs are the slavery of this century,” Calderon said in a speech Friday. “Criminals seek to make slaves of children and youths. They seek to place drugs, sometimes free of charge, in schools, in neighborhoods, to create addictions, to generate dependency.”

Calderon’s initiative, part of a package of proposals aimed at bolstering his offensive against the country’s powerful drug traffickers, also includes procedures for cleaning up Mexico’s police forces and getting them to better coordinate enforcement efforts.

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