Plan for legal marijuana in Mexico delivered to Congress

Supreme Court sets October deadline to reform drug laws

Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in April 2019. Photo: Associated Press

Mexico’s National Development Plan, delivered to Congress Tuesday by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, includes plans to decriminalize recreational marijuana.

The move is intended to combat crime in Mexico without military force.

In addition to decriminalization, clinical rehabilitation of addicted citizens would be supported.

“In terms of narcotics, the prohibitionist strategy is already unsustainable, not only because of the violence it has generated, but also because of its poor public health results,” the report states, in Spanish. “In most of the countries where it has been applied, this strategy has not translated into a reduction in consumption.”

“Worse yet, the prohibitionist model inevitably criminalizes consumers and reduces their chances of social reintegration and rehabilitation,” the plan continues, according to the newspaper Reforma.

The plan was finalized after consultation with citizens and civil organizations.

More than 40 countries have given the green light to medical cannabis, and Canada and Uruguay allowing the recreational sale and use.

Mexico legalized medical marijuana in June 2017, no small feat given the control certain drug cartels wield in Mexico.

Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled five times since 2015 that the imposition of a ban on recreational pot is unconstitutional. Mexico’s Senate will be under pressure to amend the existing laws to reflect the rulings.

Lawmakers reportedly plan to use the summer recess, from May 1 through August, to rework legislation to legalize recreational marijuana throughout Mexico. That would help lawmakers meet the Supreme Court’s October deadline to develop a regulatory plan for cannabis.

Source: Reforma, Yahoo News

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