Mexicans may consume and carry marijuana with a permit

MÉXICO, (June 29, 2021).- The Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico approved on Monday, June 29, a general declaration of unconstitutionality of the law that prohibits the consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes, that is, recreationally or leisurely.

This does not mean that marijuana is legalized, but it does mean that any Mexican who requests a permit will be able to consume it legally if he grows it at home and with certain restrictions.

“From now on, and as long as the Congress of the Union does not legislate in this regard, the Ministry of Health must send these authorizations only to adults and for the specified purposes,” said Minister Norma Lucía Piña during the debate on the subject in plenary of the high court.

The declaration of unconstitutionality was supported by eight of the eleven magistrates of the Supreme Court in general and by nine in the specifications, which in both cases reached a qualified majority sufficient to annul the five articles of the General Health Law that prevent the recreational consumption of this plant.

Marijuana and limitations

Piña added that among the limitations will be that adults do not consume in front of minors or do not drive or do dangerous activities under the influence of the drug.

In addition, she stressed that consumption may not affect third parties or take place in public spaces or in front of minors.

The Court’s resolution leaves it in the hands of the Ministry of Health and the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks to establish the details of the permits for self-consumption but, above all, it represents a clear call of attention to the Mexican Congress that has been unable to agree to legislate on the issue although the high court required it to do so on several occasions since 2019.  

“Today is a historic day for freedoms,” said the president of the high court, Arturo Zaldívar. “After a long journey, this Supreme Court consolidates the right to free development of the personality for the recreational and recreational use of marijuana.”

There will be no recreational marijuana market 

 “There are no licenses for production, there is no legalization of the cultivation in large quantities, there is no commercialization, there is no retail sale, there are no commercial purposes,” the expert explained to Norma Lucía Piña.

“What this means is that there are permits like those that have already been issued, the only difference is that it will no longer be necessary to litigate them through an injunction trial.”

Norma Lucía Piña

In Sánchez’s opinion, the message of the Court is very important and stands out “in the face of the inaction of Congress” which, although it recognized the unconstitutionality of the prohibition, was unable to correct it.

Source: Sipse

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