Mexico Congress Approves Medical Cannabis

Mexico’s Congress voted in favor to approve a bill to legalize medical cannabis. On April 28, the Lower House of Congress reportedly voted 374-7 in favor of the bill, with 11 abstentions. Last December, the Senate approved the bill 98-7. With overwhelming support coming from Mexico’s Senate and House, President Enrique Peña Nieto is now expected to sign the bill.

“The ruling eliminates the prohibition and criminalization of acts related to the medicinal use of marijuana and its scientific research, and those relating to the production and distribution of the plant for these purposes,” the Lower House said in a statement. The Ministry of Health will design public policies to regulate medical cannabis. Products with concentrations of one percent of THC or less would be legal to buy, sell, export and import. The measure doesn’t allow for smokable forms of cannabis. Mexico’s General Health Law and Federal Penal Code would both be revised to allow for medical cannabis.

President Peña Nieto vocally opposed drug legalization in the past, however, he supported medical cannabis at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in April 2016. President Peña Nieto also proposed a measure that would allow Mexicans to carry up to an ounce of personal cannabis, however, that bill has since stalled in Congress.

In 2015, Mexico’s Supreme Court allowed four people to consume cannabis medicinally. The same year, the Mexican government ruling allowed CBD to be imported on a case-by-case basis. The blanket law, however, would legalize medical cannabis for the nation as a whole. Mexican residents are swayed by drug violence that is a result of cartel activity and the prohibition of cannabis. 80,000 men and women in Mexico have been killed due to drug violence since 2006.

“This is a step in the right direction of exploring new alternatives of regulated, legalized and supervised use, and can open up a new front for authorities to combat addictions and the violence that arises from the illicit activities of drug growing, trafficking and consumption,” said Rep. Arturo Alvarez of the Green Party. Once President Peña Nieto signs the bill, it will usher in a new era for alternative health in Mexico.