TO THE alarm of its northern neighbour, Mexico is to decriminalise the possession of nearly every drug — hard and soft — that the US has battled for decades to keep off its territory.

President Fox is to sign legislation that will make Mexico one of the most permissive countries in the world when it comes to narcotics.

Users will be able to possess up to five grams of marijuana (the equivalent of about four joints), five grams of opium, 25 milligrams of heroin and 500 milligrams of cocaine — enough for a few lines.

Nor will they be prosecuted for possessing a few tabs of Ecstasy, small quantities of amphetamines or magic mushrooms, or even a kilo of so-called indigenous drugs such as the hallucinogenic peyote, a psychotropic cactus still used in shamanic rituals.

The Mexican Government says the legislation will allow the authorities to concentrate on fighting the violent drugs gangs that have turned several cities into war zones. But the Bush Administration fears it will encourage thousands of young Americans to head south as “drugs tourists”.

Cities such as Cancún, Tijuana and Acapulco are favourite destinations for US students seeking a good time in the sun.

A White House official said that American representatives met their Mexican counterparts this week to express opposition to the Bill.

“They urged Mexican leaders to review the legislation and to avoid the perception that drug use would be tolerated in Mexico to prevent drug tourism,” he told The Times. Asked to elaborate, he added: “Look at Amsterdam. You’re British. You know what we mean.”

Jerry Sanders, Mayor of San Diego, which is close to the frontier, said he was appalled by the Bill. “I certainly think we are going to see more drugs available in the United States,” he said. “We need to register every protest the American Government can muster.”

The legislation was approved by the Senate last week, and Rubén Aguilar, Señor Fox’s spokesman, insisted: “The President is going to sign that law. There will be no objection. It appears to be a good law and an advance in combating narcotics trafficking.”

While the new law will prevent jail terms for those caught possessing the stipulated amounts, local prosecutors may still be able to fine users under regional legislation, or even hold them for 48 hours in police cells.

Selling drugs will remain illegal. The Bill will stiffen penalties for trafficking and possession of even small quantities of drugs by government employees or near schools. Powers to hunt down drug traffickers will be extended from federal to local police.

Señor Aguilar said that the rules would clarify the rights of drugs users, whose fate has until now been settled by courts on a case-by-case basis.

“The Government believes that this law represents progress, because it established the minimum quantities that a citizen can carry for personal use,” he said.

Eduardo Medina-Mora, Mexico’s Public Safety Minister, emphasised that “possession of small amounts of drugs does not require a penal sanction”, and said that the laws would help Mexico’s battle against the cartels, whose struggles for control of trafficking routes have spread in the past year from the violent border towns of the north to the south, including the resort Acapulco.

The drugs wars have cost hundreds of lives and become increasingly gruesome. Last month two police officers from a rapid reaction force in Acapulco were decapitated by suspected drug gang members, and their severed heads left outside a government office with a note saying “Show some respect”. In the border town of Nuevo Laredo, the entire police force was relieved of duty last summer and federal troops sent in after gangs fought battles in the streets.

While Mexico argues that penalising petty drugs users is counter-productive in the war on the multibillion-dollar narcotics trade, its US allies in that war are less sanguine.

Sue Rusche, president of National Families in Action, said: “Lots of folks — especially kids — go down to Mexico for holidays and now they will have access to drugs.

“I am puzzled as to how the Mexican Government thinks it will decrease sales of drugs with these measures.”

Traditionally, Mexicans have used far fewer drugs than their American counterparts, and have blamed the US for fuelling cross-border demand of narcotics produced in Colombia and in Mexico itself.

But the recent habit of the two main Mexican smuggling gangs — the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels — of paying their traffickers and gunmen in drugs has led to a sharp increase in domestic consumption, as gang members sell their “fees” on the open market.

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