Mexico could see the legality of recreational marijuana by the end of the month. The Mexican Senate looks to vote on the issue within the next two weeks.
Senate leader, and the country’s MORENA Party leader, Ricardo Monreal announced this vote early in the week of 12 October. The country has waited with baited breath for the vote to legalize weed in Mexico. The vote will be passed by the Senate, then moved forward to the house of Congress, and finally to the Chamber of Deputies.
The bill is said to be likely to pass, based on the momentum it built up in 2018. Back in 2018, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that not allowing citizens to use marijuana was a violation of their constitutional rights. The final verdict of that discussion decided that the prohibition of marijuana use encumbered the ‘free development of the personality’ of Mexican citizens.
Following the 2018 ruling, the court offered lawmakers one year to pass this legislations. The legislation was not passed and legislators were given until 15 December two years later, where the motion was finally made.
In August 2020, affairs resumed when Mexican President Andreas Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered lawmakers to return to the legislation following the summer break.
The legal framework for this new legislation has already been decided. Anyone over the age of 18 is permitted to either possess or grow up to 28 grams of cannabis, if the drug is for personal use only. The new ruling will also deem that anyone found with 200 grams of marijuana on them will not face any legal repercussion, as possession of the drug will also be decriminalized.
The Mexican people will be able to grow up to 20 plants themselves, with an annual cap of 480 grams. This 20 plant limit can be exceeded for those needing the substance for medical purposes, once they organize the applicable permits.
Social equity rulings also hope to be woven into the new legislation, thus allowing global companies the opportunity to get involved in the legal growing and selling of the drug, with less of a risk of individuals being exploited or arrested for criminal charges.
Civil rights groups in Mexico have tweeted to emphasize the need to protect citizens from monopolized or wealthier conglomerates, should they attempt to take advantage of the new legislation.
The tweets ask that an inclusive cannabis market be introduced, and regulated freely and fairly. The group has long fought for a marketplace that benefits those who have been most negatively affected by the previous restrictions on cannabis cultivation and sales.
For more information on the global views of legal cannabis, check out some these articles on US and UK weed regulations.
