Under pressure from the United States, Mexican President Vincente Fox has backtracked on a previous pledge to sign a drug decriminalization bill into law, the Associated Press reported May 3.

Fox said he was sending the measure, which would have dropped criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs, back to Congress for review. Fox asked lawmakers "to make the needed corrections to make it absolutely clear in our country, the possession of drugs and their consumption are, and will continue to be, a criminal offense," according to a statement.

U.S. officials had criticized the bill, saying it would encourage Americans to cross the border to get drugs.

The bill had added "consumers" to a section in the law that exempts people from prosecution for drug possession; previously, the clause only applied to those who were addicted to drugs. "The word 'consumer' can be eliminated so that the only exemption clause would be for drug addicts," said Sen. Jorge Zermeno of Fox's Conservative Action Party. "There's still time to get this through."

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, Judith Bryan, said that "U.S. officials expressed their opposition to legalization or decriminalization of narcotics in any country" and "urged Mexican representatives to review the legislation urgently, to avoid the perception that drug use would be tolerated in Mexico, and to prevent drug tourism."