Supreme Court of Mexico Overturns Ban on Recreational Cannabis

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]M[/dropcap]exico’s days of cannabis prohibition are numbered. The Supreme Court of Mexico overturned the county’s ban on recreational cannabis under two rulings on Oct. 31. The rulings give Mexico 90 days to formally legalize recreational cannabis.

The Supreme Court ruled that “the fundamental right to the free development of the personality allows the persons of legal age to decide—without any interference—what kind of recreational activities they wish to carry out and protect all the actions necessary to materialize that choice,” according to Transform Drug Policy Foundation.

Reitera Primera Sala inconstitucionalidad de la prohibición absoluta del consumo recreativo de marihuana e integra jurisprudencia: https://t.co/szeayG5vbs pic.twitter.com/EmhfBOlqZe

— Suprema Corte (@SCJN) October 31, 2018

The rulings will force the Mexican government to update its policies on cannabis that are currently in conflict with the new changes. President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently traveled to Canada, shortly after recreational cannabis sales began, indicating an interest in reforming law in his own country.

The move arrives after a series of five legislative judgments dating back to 2015 that have slowly removed restrictions on cannabis. “This 5th judgment means that, while the cannabis prohibition law nominally remains in place for now (and arrests remain possible), all judges nationally are now bound by the Supreme Court judgment as a defense in the (now much less likely) scenario of prosecutions being brought,” Transform Senior Policy Analyst Steve Rolles told Marijuana Moment. “The legalization of cannabis for adult personal use, possession, private cultivation and sharing is therefore currently de facto (in practical effect), rather than de jure (formalized in law/legislation).”

If Mexico proceeds, it would be following in the footsteps of Canada. As pointed out by The Washington Post, this ruling creates a continuous line of legal cannabis jurisdiction, reaching from the Arctic Circle in Canada to south of the Tropic of Cancer in Mexico. It was truly a momentous day for Mexico and for North America as a whole.