The Mexican Supreme Court has voted to again extend the deadline for lawmakers to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis. The Mexican lower house, or the Chamber of Deputies, voted to postpone the legalization debate until February 2021.
According to a poll, a majority of Mexico residents were against legal recreational cannabis. The 500 seats of the Chamber of Deputies will be up for election in June 2021, and some deputies might not want to risk supporting a controversial issue like legal cannabis. This is the third delay after the original deadline of October 2019.
The legislation will allow for adults aged 18 or older to purchase and possess up to 28 grams of cannabis in addition to allowing for up to six plants to grow at home. The Chamber of Deputies now intends to modify the bill. Chamber of Deputies President Dulce María Sauri, mentioned that they need more time to work on a regulatory framework for cannabis. Problems stemming from legislating during the COVID-19 pandemic were cited as the main reason for the delayed deadline. “I am sure that the Court, which follows these deliberations very closely, will see that the legislative work is well advanced,” Sauri said. “I am sure that the Supreme Court of Justice will agree to do what is necessary to provide a good regulatory framework in this matter.”
Activists hope the lawmakers use the extension to revise the bill to remove any remaining criminal penalties, as well as expand opportunities to communities who have been most affected by prohibition. “We expect this extension to mean that there will be greater attention to human rights and sustainable development, and not the economic interests of companies,” said Zara Snapp, a legalization activist and co-founder of the Mexican research and advocacy organization Instituto RIA. “We also hope that as they move forward that they will advance quickly and not wait until the last moment, as we have seen them do again and again.”
