| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico 
Mexico Applauds California Rejection of Pot Legalization
 Agence France-Presse
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November 04, 2010
Mexico City — Mexico on Wednesday welcomed a vote against the legalization of marijuana in the US state of California, after criticizing the United States for sending contradictory messages on drug use.
 |  | This result goes in the direction Mexico has followed on the prevention and treatment of addictions.
- Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova |  | | |
Californians rejected Proposition 19 – one of a series of referendums held simultaneously with mid-term polls – by 57 percent against 43 percent in favor, according to early projections.
"This result goes in the direction Mexico has followed on the prevention and treatment of addictions," Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova told the Televisa network, a day after the California vote.
Amid a growing continent-wide debate on whether the legalization of drugs would weaken its violent drug cartels, Cordova said easier access would lead to more drug addicts.
President Felipe Calderon, who is leading a military crackdown on Mexico's drug gangs, said before the vote that any kind of legalization would have to take place "integrally and globally."
More than 28,000 people have died in Mexico in a wave of suspected drug related violence in almost four years, despite the deployment of some 50,000 troops across the country.
Calderon is opposed to legalization but allowed a high-level debate to open on the issue for the first time this year.
The California proposal would have allowed people aged 21 and over to possess up to one ounce (28 grams) of marijuana and grow up to 25 square feet (2.32 square meter) of pot plants.
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