Mexico decriminalizes recreational marijuana consumption but not its commercialization

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After the failure of the Mexican Congress to regulate recreational cannabis, the Supreme Court of Justice approved this Monday a historic ruling that lifts the prohibition of recreational marijuana self-consumption in Mexico. However, it does not endorse its commercialization.

“Today is a historic day for freedoms. After a long road, this Supreme Court consolidates the right to the free development of personality for the recreational use of marijuana,” declared the High Court president, Arturo Zaldívar, after the vote.

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

PERMITS FOR PRIVATE CONSUMPTION

With the publication of the declaration in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), Mexicans will be able to request permits to privately consume, cultivate and carry marijuana before the Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris), which belongs to the Ministry of Health.

The Court ordered Cofepris to design the guidelines to obtain these permits and acquire the seeds’ modalities.

Judge Norma Lucía Piña, who was the project’s rapporteur, clarified that consumption will only be authorized for adults and that smoking will not be allowed in public spaces, in front of minors, or in any place where third parties will be affected.

Until now, Mexico only contemplated the medicinal use of marijuana, while recreational consumption was limited to those who filed a judicial injunction.

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Although the session of the magistrates was telematic, members of the Mexican Cannabis Movement stood in front of the Supreme Court to demand the end of the prohibition after a year and a half camped out in front of the Senate demanding legalization.

Pepe Rivera, a spokesman for the collective, celebrated the declaration because until now, the amparos had “individual effects” for those who could pay for the judicial process. At the same time, Monday’s ruling will serve “all citizens”.

He said that the Supreme Court’s decision “immediately fulfills the four demands of the Cannabis Movement”, which are non-profit consumption, possession, dignified treatment, and safe consumption spaces.

COMMERCIALIZATION IS STILL PROHIBITED

During the session of the highest court, Judge Piña stressed that as long as Congress does not legislate on the matter, “in no case is it authorized to import, trade or supply” marijuana.

This frustrates, for now, the aspirations of many business people who, like former President Vicente Fox (2000-2006), see in Mexico an enormous potential to create the largest legal marijuana market in the world.

According to a report by Endeavor, Mexico is the world’s second-largest cannabis producer, with up to 27,000 tons annually. At the same time, the Latin American Cannabis Alliance (Alcan) estimates that this plant’s medicinal and recreational industry would generate more than 22 billion dollars in four years.

A LONG AND TORTUOUS ROAD

The highest court decision came after a long and tortuous road that ended a century of the absolute prohibition of marijuana in the country.

After several injunctions from marijuana consumers, the Supreme Court deemed the prohibition unconstitutional for violating “the free development of personality” and ordered Congress in 2019 to regulate the matter.

After the first two deadlines granted by the Court expired, the Senate approved on November 19 last year a first version of the law. Still, on March 10, it was modified by the Chamber of Deputies and returned to the Senate, which let the final deadline of April 30 pass without ratifying it.

The ruling sought to make Mexico the third country in the Americas to legalize recreational marijuana at the national level, after Uruguay and Canada.

It allowed carrying up to a maximum of 28 grams of cannabis and provided for a system of licenses to grow up to eight plants at home, found smokers’ associations, and produced and sold marijuana and industrial hemp.

However, consumer associations criticized that the text continued criminalizing consumption by establishing fines and prison sentences for exceeding the permitted amounts.

During the debate in Congress, several legislators defended that legalization would be a blow to organized crime, although experts doubt these effects since drug trafficking is already highly diversified.

Since the beginning of 2021, and after several years of delays following its legalization in Congress, Mexico has regulated the use, sale, and distribution of medical marijuana. Now is added this important advance for recreational use.