The senators who voted in favour argued that if the articles required by the Supreme Court were removed without regulating the use of cannabis, the door would be opened to the illegal market.
MEXICO CITY(Times Media Mexico).- The draft bill that regulates the use of marijuana for recreational purposes in Mexico passed the first legislative step in the Senate on Wednesday when it was approved in committee and in order to comply with a mandate from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
The joint meeting of the Justice, Health and Legislative Studies committees approved sending the opinion to the Senate for debate and vote.
It is expected that the initiative will be debated and voted on next week in the plenary session of the Senate.
If approved, it will have to be confirmed by the Chamber of Deputies and subsequently enacted by Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who does not favor the recreational use of marijuana despite the fact that his party promoted the initiative.
The ruling removes the articles in the General Health Law that prohibit the recreational use of marijuana, thus complying with a Supreme Court ruling, and also creates the Law for the Regulation of Cannabis.
This text allows marijuana to be consumed for recreational purposes as long as it is not in front of minors, increases the amount of cannabis that can be possessed from 5 to 28 grams, and authorizes the cultivation of up to six plants for personal consumption.
In 2017, the Mexican Congress approved the medicinal and scientific use of marijuana, but the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) has not since developed a regulation to facilitate the marketing and import of products derived from the plant.
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of five appeals for protection that denounced the unconstitutionality of several articles of the General Health Law that prohibit the recreational use of cannabis, thus establishing jurisprudence.
The court established that denying the self-consumption of cannabis to adults “violates the right to the free development of personality”.
Last November, the Supreme Court established that the Mexican Congress should have regulated the recreational use of marijuana before the end of the current session, which ends Apr. 30.
The Yucatan Times
Newsroom
