Mexican Senator Files Cannabis Legalization Bill

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]head of the Supreme Court-imposed deadline to end cannabis prohibition, Mexican Sen. Julio Menchaca Salazar filed a cannabis legalization bill. According to Marijuana Moment, Salazar, a member of the current party in power in Mexico, MORENA, filed legislation that would allow for the legal possession, cultivation, and even consumption of cannabis for personal use.

A press release outlines that the new system would also put in place a hemp industry for textiles and production, as well as a medical cannabis industry.

To support his bill, Salazar argued that so far, prohibition has only given power to the dangerous drug cartels instead of leaving it in the hands of the people with a fully regulated cannabis industry. He pointed out different legal states in the U.S. as proof that cannabis can be treated like any other industry, and the medical needs of patients. 

This all comes shortly before the Supreme Court’s deadline to make a decision about cannabis, and after a public outcry in Mexico for legal cannabis. Many in the government who previously didn’t consider legalization a viable option at all are starting to be more open to having the conversation. Sens. Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero, Rubén Rocha Moya and Lucía Trasviña Waldenrath signed on to co-sponsor the bill. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also supports legalization.

Ever since it was first announced that the Supreme Court would turn over the ban on recreational cannabis the country has been working to find a way out of the haze of prohibition. The political climate of the country has vastly changed over the past few years; in fact, President Obrador is even open to the legal regulation of opium. The world will be watching as this country takes major steps towards legal cannabis.