That is the fear, if somewhat overstated, of some Mexican officials, especially in northern border states that serve as a mecca for underage American drinkers. The Mexican legislature has voted quietly to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of pot, cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs, an effort that in the past has proved highly controversial. There has been less protest this time around, in part because there hasn't been much publicity. Some critics have suggested easing the punishment on drug possession sends the wrong message at a time when President Felipe Calderon is waging a bloody war on major narcotics traffickers. The battle between law enforcement authorities and drug suspects has claimed more than 11,000 lives in the last 2 1/2 years. But it was Calderon himself who proposed the decriminalization legislation. His reasoning: It makes sense to distinguish between small-time users and big-time dealers, while re-targeting major crime-fighting resources away from the former and toward the latter and their drug lord bosses. 'The important thing is ... that consumers are not treated as criminals,' said Rafael Ruiz Mena, secretary general of the National Institute of Penal Sciences. 'It is a public health problem, not a penal problem.' The legislation was approved at the height of a swine-flu outbreak in Mexico that dominated the public's, and the world's, attention. Meeting at times behind closed doors -- the better to prevent the spread of disease, officials said -- the lower and upper houses of Congress passed the bill on the last days of April. It awaits Calderon's signature. The bill says users caught with small amounts -- five grams of marijuana, 500 milligrams of cocaine -- clearly intended for 'personal and immediate use' will not be criminally prosecuted. They will be told of available clinics, and encouraged to enter a rehabilitation program. As many as 40 milligrams of methamphetamine, a synthetic and especially harmful drug, are permitted, as are as many as 50 milligrams of heroin. Three years ago, in May of 2006, then-President Vicente Fox, from Calderon's right-wing party, vetoed a similar bill that Congress had approved and that he initially had supported. He backed down only under pressure from Washington, D.C., where the Bush administration complained that decriminalization for even small amounts could increase drug use. But with less than a month to go before critical mid-term elections in which his party is struggling to maintain control of Congress, Calderon cannot afford to be seen as bowing to the United States, analysts say. Already under intense criticism for the drug-related violence terrifying parts of the country, Calderon needs to maintain good relations with Congress, where much of the opposition voted in favor of the decriminalization initiative. He can't suddenly go back on his own bill. And so, political observers say, he probably will sign the bill into law. Calderon's office did not comment for this article. So far, the U.S. government has not publicly objected to the legislation. Michele Leonhart, the acting director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, however, told a news conference in April that legalization of drugs 'would be a failed law enforcement strategy for both the U.S. and Mexico.' Mexican government officials stress they are not talking about legalization, but decriminalization. Until now, courts decided on a case-by-case basis whether and how to punish first-time drug-use offenders. And standard criteria for quantities hadn't existed. Originally, Calderon wanted users caught with the permissible amounts to avoid jail time only if they agreed to rehab. But the bill now says only that treatment would be encouraged. Then, Calderon sought a provision in which a user arrested a third time would be obliged to seek treatment. That requirement was removed, Ruiz Mena said, after debate over whether mandatory rehab is ever effective. Mexico is woefully underequipped to handle a booming drug-abuse problem. For decades the country was a transit point for cocaine, marijuana and other drugs headed to the U.S. But more recently, domestic consumption has soared. A 2007 study by the government found the number of 'addicts' in Mexico doubled in the previous five years. Drug abuse has gotten worse in part because some of the big cartels pay their people with cocaine, pot or other such substances. Clinics and other institutions that specialize in treatment and prevention have not kept up with the trend. The government is building 310 centers to improve care, but experts say that is not enough. The decriminalization legislation has received criticism from religious leaders and several officials of northern border states, who fear that so-called 'drug tourists' will begin flocking to towns and cities already besieged by violence. 'Allowing the carrying of certain amounts of drugs will create more consumers,' Oscar Villalobos Chavez, social development secretary for the State of Chihuahua, which borders Texas, told local reporters. An editorial in the official magazine of the Roman Catholic Church criticized legislators for liberalizing the law 'when faced with the highly contagious and lethal sickness that drug addiction represents.' Mary Ellen Hernandez, director of the Rio Grande Safe Communities Coalition in El Paso, Texas, across the border from the blood-soaked Mexican city of Juarez, said she worried decriminalization would lure Americans into a drug world they aren't prepared for and increase violence on both sides of the border. 'Already, the drugs that don't come over into the U.S. are being handed out by dealers to younger and younger children (in Mexico), 8-, 9-, 10-year-olds, hooking them,' said Hernandez, whose agency specializes in drug prevention. 'And then (the youths) steal to feed the habit.' (Optional add end) Except for a relatively few voices, however, there has been minimal protest over the law, and some praise. Luciano Pascoe, vice president of the small left-wing Social Democratic Party, said the law was a positive 'first step' that helped 'shatter the stigma that consumers are criminals.' Pascoe's party is running in next month's elections on a platform that includes legalization of all drugs as a way to make it a less lucrative business for traffickers. It remains unknown whether that position had anything to do with four of his candidates being shot at and attacked in recent weeks. None was seriously injured. 