Mexico: cannabis legalization project tabled

Senator Julio Menchaca Salazar of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) introduced a bill on Tuesday to legalize cannabis in Mexico, one month before the deadline set by the’Court ruling ending the ban of cannabis in the country. The bill authorizes the possession, cultivation, and use of cannabis by adults.

The senator @Julio_Menchaca introduced a bill to amend Articles 235 and 247 of the General Law on #Salud to regulate self-consumption of #cannabis for recreational or leisure activities for adults. https://t.co/7PnIkEPBsa

— Morena Senators (@MorenaSenadores) September 3, 2019

According to the official press release, Articles 235 and 247 of the General Health Act would be amended to allow adults to use cannabis for recreational purposes. The legal framework for cannabis will also take into account the medical use of cannabis as well as the industrial use of hemp.

During his speech, the senator, who also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, emphasized that prohibition had only served to create organized crime syndicates, violence, crime, and a source of funding for illegal activities.

He also discussed the markets legal aspects of cannabis in the United States, Canada, or Uruguay, which are considered examples of effective regulatory systems.

The Mexican Senate has also announced that it will soon hold five hearings during which various experts will share their views on cannabis regulation. The five roundtable discussions, titled «Toward Cannabis Regulation,» will focus on cannabis testing, models for medical cannabis legalization, taxation, the legal cannabis market in Canada, and the U.S. experience with cannabis regulation. The Senate’s working groups on justice, health, the second legislative study, and public safety are organizing these hearings.

The Senate held similar public hearings last month on the best way to regulate cannabis, with an approach based on absolute transparency and open participation «that is» acceptable to all of society in an open parliament, whether in person or online «.” A page has been posted online on the Senate's official website to gather various opinions.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration also supports legalization.