Mexico is Moving Towards Legalizing Marijuana
By Jasmine Shafquat
Late last year, Mexico’s Senate of the Republic (Senate) approved a bill to legalize marijuana, but due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chamber of Deputies (Congress) just recently amended and advanced the bill.[1] For the most part, the Chamber approved the general provisions of the bill, which include decriminalizing cannabis for recreational, medical, and scientific uses.[2] However, several revisions were made regarding “the regulatory structure, rules for the commercial market and licensing policies, among other aspects.”[3] For example, under the November 2020 bill, a new independent regulatory body would be established to oversee licensing and implementation.[4] Contrastingly, under the March 2021 revised bill, the authority to oversee licensing and implementation aspects would be assigned to an existing agency, the National Commission Against Addictions.[5] Another revision “clarifies that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will maintain jurisdiction over hemp.”[6] Other significant revisions include increasing the penalties for unauthorized possession of large amounts of cannabis, preventing forest land from being converted to marijuana growing areas and requiring regulators to develop permanent actions to deter and prevent the use of cannabis by minors and vulnerable groups.[7]
Even with the proposed changes, the revised bill is “widely expected to sail through the Senate.”[8] Moreover, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has likewise indicated that he would support this legalization.[9] Once officially approved by the Senate and President López Obrador, Mexico would be the third country in the world to legalize the recreational use of cannabis nationwide.[10] Interestingly enough, even though there is a significant amount of support for this legislation, a recent poll surprisingly shows that nearly fifty-eight percent of Mexican citizens oppose legalizing marijuana.[11] Accordingly, Senator Damián Zepeda Vidales speculates that the recent support for legalizing marijuana is just a “political fad.”[12] Yet, there are a number of law makers that avidly advocate that the legalization of cannabis will have a plethora of positive effects on the country.[13] Specifically, some lawmakers and scholars believe that legalizing cannabis would help boost the country’s economy, reduce violence between the country’s powerful drug cartels, and make the country safer overall.[14]
Currently, the legal cannabis industry is a “multi-billion-dollar global trade.”[15] It, therefore, comes as no surprise that the legalization of marijuana in Mexico is expected to be a “game-changer for the international cannabis market.”[16] First, the legalization of cannabis in Mexico is expected to “accelerate the acceptance of legalization efforts” not only throughout Latin America, but throughout the rest of the world.[17] Correspondingly, it is even anticipated that the United States will soon follow suit and legalize marijuana once it is sandwiched between the two largest recreational marijuana markets.[18] Additionally, Mexico’s “inexpensive land, relatively cheap labor force and favorable weather” make it an extremely desirable destination for companies to begin growing and exporting raw materials and products.[19] In fact, given that cannabis is already legal in Canada, many Canadian companies are projected to seek out Mexico as the next place to export their cannabis products.[20] Mexico’s former President Vicente Fox even foresees that “the United States, Canada and Mexico will produce and export marijuana to the rest of the world. . . [u]nder the North American Free Trade Agreement.”[21] While one can only speculate as to the effects Mexico’s legal cannabis industry will have, there is no doubt that Mexico’s current progress towards the legalization legislation is historic, and – if passed – will create a major shift in the global cannabis market.[22]
[1] Kyle Jaeger, Mexico’s Chamber Of Deputies Approves Revised Marijuana Legalization Bill, Sending It Back To Senate, Marijuana Movement (Mar. 10, 2021) https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexicos-chamber-of-deputies-approves-revised-marijuana-legalization-bill/.
[2] Diego Oré, Mexico's Congress approves landmark cannabis bill, Reuters (Mar. 10, 2021) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-marijuana/mexicos-congress-approves-landmark-cannabis-bill-idUSKBN2B22UT.
[3] Kyle Jaeger, supra note 1.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Oscar Lopez, Mexico Set to Legalize Marijuana, Becoming World’s Largest Market, NY Times (Mar. 10, 2021) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/world/americas/mexico-cannabis-bill.html.
[9] Id.
[10] Mexico marijuana: Lower house passes recreational cannabis bill, BBC News (Mar. 11, 2021) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56356015.
[11] Alejandro Moreno, El 58% de los mexicanos está en contra de legalizar la mariguana, EL Financiero (Nov. 24, 2020) https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/nacional/el-58-de-los-mexicanos-esta-en-contra-de-legalizar-la-mariguana.
[12] Oscar Lopez, supra note 8.
[13] See id; Drazen Jorgic, Mexico, plagued by cartel wars, on cusp of legal cannabis 'green rush', Reuters (Oct. 1, 2020) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-cannabis-insight/mexico-plagued-by-cartel-wars-on-cusp-of-legal-cannabis-green-rush-idUSKBN26M5UI.
[14] Catherine Osborn, Mexico Prepares to Light Up—Legally, Foreign Policy (Mar. 12, 2021) https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/12/mexico-prepares-to-light-up-legally/.
[15] Id.
[16] https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexicos-chamber-of-deputies-approves-revised-marijuana-legalization-bill/
[17] Bruce Kennedy, Mexico is moving to legalize cannabis in 2021. What does that mean for the US?, Leafly ( Jan 12, 2021) https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/mexico-is-moving-to-legalize-cannabis-in-2021-what-does-that-mean-for-the-us.
[18] Id.
[19] Drazen Jorgic, supra note 13.
[20] Id.
[21] Andres Oppenheimer, Mexico is about to legalize marijuana, which will put pressure on Biden to do the same, Miami Herald (Mar. 17, 2021).
[22] Diego Orém, supra note 2.