Mexican Senate Passes Cannabis Legalization Act

Photo illustration (Green Force / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Mexican Senate approved a law (UU) legalizing marijuana in a massive ballot that took place on Thursday, November 19. The passing of the law paved the way for the creation of the world's largest legal cannabis market. If implemented, the reforms will mark major changes in a country where drug cartel violence in recent years has claimed more than a hundred thousand lives.

Citing Reuters on Friday, November 20, senators voted 82 to 18 in favor of the move. Meanwhile, seven others decided to abstain. Lawmakers rush to get final approval before the end of the congressional session in December.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that recreational marijuana should be permitted. The enactment comes one year after lawmakers legalized marijuana as a medicinal use.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a social conservative, has shied away from publicly supporting the push to legalize cannabis. But he's not against it either, and senior cabinet members such as Interior Minister Olga Sanchez have publicly called for a shift in the legalization and regulation of cannabis.

Morena's party, which is Obrador's leftist party and supports the initiative, holds a majority in both chambers of Congress with its allies. The law still has to overcome the next hurdle in the lower house of congress.

The goal of Mexico's cannabis legalization law is to "improve living conditions" and contribute to the reduction of crimes associated with drug trafficking. A company has expressed interest in the future Mexican legal cannabis market, including Canada's Canopy Growth WEED.TO and The Green Organic Dutchman TGOD.TO, as well as Medical Marijuana Inc MJNA.PK. based in California.

The law will allow users to bring up to 28 grams and grow as many as four cannabis plants at home. The sale of marijuana to authorized adults will be permitted, provided the product adheres to the maximum levels of psychoactive ingredients. Children will be prohibited from using drugs or any involvement in their cultivation and sale, and driving at high levels is illegal.

Previously, Mexico's Supreme Court had ruled that the law prohibiting the use of marijuana was unconstitutional. One pro-marijuana man even planted marijuana seeds in the square of the Mexican Senate as a form of his support for the legalization of marijuana.

"Being able to smoke here (in the park) with freedom is very important to me," said Marco Flores, puffing out his cigarette smoke on a bench facing the Congress House.