The international community is stepping up pressure on Mexico to follow through with its plans to legalize and regulate marijuana, the country\u2019s Senate president says.<\/p>\n
And while top Mexican lawmakers have taken steps to craft and debate cannabis reform proposals for the past few years without sending any piece of legislation across the finish line to date, there are renewed talks about pursuing a policy change when the new session begins on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Senate President Olga S\u00e1nchez Cordero of the MORENA party said that she\u2019s heard from a colleague who recently visited leaders in several Latin American countries, and they\u2019re consistently asking about the status of Mexico\u2019s efforts to legislatively end prohibition and set up a regulated marijuana market.<\/p>\n
The former cabinet member under President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador has long advocated for legalization, and she said \u201cwe are falling behind in the world if we do not advance on this issue,\u201d according to a translation of a report<\/a> from Proceso.<\/p>\n Si no se avanza en legislaci\u00f3n sobre uso de #cannabis<\/a>, #M\u00e9xico<\/a> se quedar\u00e1 rezagado del mundo en la materia, advirti\u00f3 @M_OlgaSCordero<\/a>. @HMeridiano<\/a> #ProhibidoProhibir<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/WwK2EvEAm4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Azteca Noticias (@AztecaNoticias) August 30, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n S\u00e1nchez Cordero separately spoke about marijuana reform efforts days before the start of the new session in another interview last week.<\/p>\n En #AntesDeAcostarnos<\/a>, Olga S\u00e1nchez Cordero (@M_OlgaSCordero<\/a>), presidenta de la Mesa Directiva del Senado, conversa con @genarolozano<\/a> sobre la moratoria legislativa, la regulaci\u00f3n de la cannabis y el papel de la Guardia Nacional. https:\/\/t.co\/svTFAMY4Jp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 N+Media (@nmasmedia) August 24, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The Senate leader said that Sen. Lilia Margarita Valdez Mart\u00ednez, a MORENO lawmaker who chairs the body\u2019s Health Committee, told her that she heard from officials in Chile, Argentina and Colombia who have asked \u201cwhen Mexico will take this important step in the regulation of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a question on the minds of people far and wide, as Mexican lawmakers have routinely suggested that they considered legalization legislation a priority, especially after the country\u2019s Supreme Court ruled in 2018<\/a> that the prohibition on cannabis possession and cultivation for personal use is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader Ricardo Monreal, an advocate for reform, said earlier this week that enacting regulations for cannabis will (again) be among the top legislative priorities of Congress in the new session, Cronica reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Sen. Rafael Espino de la Pe\u00f1a, who chairs the Senate Justice Committee, spoke at a forum last week titled \u201cLegal Cannabis in Mexico: The path for an industry that acts today.\u201d<\/p>\n En el @senadomexicano<\/a> continuar\u00e1 el trabajo para integrar una legislaci\u00f3n completa sobre el cannabis, que responda a nuestro contexto, frene las problem\u00e1ticas que genera, y fomente el crecimiento econ\u00f3mico, afirm\u00f3 el senador Rafael Espino de la Pe\u00f1a. https:\/\/t.co\/BTfMF3EbSN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Senadores Morena (@MorenaSenadores) August 24, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n He said that the \u201cuse of cannabis for therapeutic, industrial or recreational purposes is a matter of public health and safety, economic development, and [the] guarantee of the freedom to decide, in an informed manner, about its consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n Legalization could represent an economic boon for Mexico, he said<\/a>, adding that it\u2019s also important to create a regulatory framework that effectively curbs the illicit market and minimizes the influence of drug cartels.<\/p>\n \u201cMaking the regulation of the entire cannabis market chain more flexible [and] extending its use would improve health and safety, help economic development and facilitate regulatory compliance,\u201d Espino de la Pe\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we establish pertinent mechanisms, modalities and restrictions in its cultivation, production and sale, we will be able to have a regulated market that prevents its use by minors and reduces legal costs such as, for example, those of [law enforcement] surveillance for possession for personal consumption, with which resources can be released to attend to other social problems.\u201d<\/p>\n Late last year, a draft marijuana legalization bill was circulated among lawmakers in the Senate<\/a>, with plans to put the issue to a vote in December.<\/p>\n But that never ended up happening, with legislators continuing to kick the proverbial cannabis can down the road. Under the draft bill that was distributed, adults 18 and older would have been allowed to purchase and possess up to 28 grams of marijuana and cultivate up to six plants for personal use.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been about four years since the nation\u2019s highest court deemed prohibition unconstitutional, leaving it up to Congress to enact a policy change, accordingly. But lawmakers have so far been unable to reach a consensus on legislation to put in place regulations for a cannabis program.<\/p>\n At the request of legislators, the court agreed to extend its deadline for Congress to formally end prohibition on multiple occasions. But because of the\u00a0repeated failed attempts to meet those deadlines<\/a>, justices\u00a0ultimately voted to end criminalization on their own<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez Cordero, for her part, said last year that \u201cthere is no longer room for the prohibitionist policy.<\/a>\u201d And she also said that the influence of the U.S. is to blame for failed marijuana criminalization laws<\/a>\u00a0in her country.<\/p>\n The Senate approved a legalization bill in late 2020, and then the Chamber of Deputies made revisions and passed it last year<\/a>, sending it back to the originating chamber. A couple of Senate committees then\u00a0took up and cleared the amended measure<\/a>, but leaders quickly started signaling\u00a0that certain revisions made the proposal unworkable<\/a>.<\/p>\n After the Chamber of Deputies previously approved the Senate-passed legalization bill, senators said that the revised proposal was critically internally conflicted\u2014on provisions concerning legal possession limits, the definition of hemp and other issues\u2014and lawmakers themselves could be subject to criminal liability if it went into effect as drafted.<\/p>\n Sen. Eduardo Ram\u00edrez Aguilar of the MORENA party said in April 2021 that \u201cat this time, it is important to legislate in the terms that are presented to us<\/a>\u201d and then consider additional revisions to cannabis laws through subsequent bills.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the position many legalization advocates took as well, urging lawmakers to pass an imperfect bill immediately and then work on fixing it later.<\/p>\n Mexico\u2019s president said in late 2020 that a vote on legalization legislation was delayed due to minor \u201cmistakes\u201d in the proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Members of the Senate\u2019s Justice, Health, and Legislative Studies Committees had\u00a0approved a prior version of legal cannabis legislation<\/a> in 2020 as well, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed consideration of the issue.<\/p>\n What remains to be seen if what kind of changes lawmakers will be willing to make to the legalization legislation in the new session, and whether it will face the same legislative obstacles that has kept reform from being enacted over the past four years.<\/p>\n But for the time being, the messaging from top lawmakers sounds familiar: cannabis policy is a priority, lawmakers are working on it and the longer Mexico waits, the international policy gap on the issue will continue to widen.<\/p>\n Just this month, the newly sworn-in Colombian President Gustavo Petro has talked up the potential of legalizing marijuana<\/a>, and he added that it\u2019s time to seriously think about releasing people who are currently incarcerated over cannabis\u2014especially in light of reforms that have been enacted in U.S. states and Canada.<\/p>\n A Dozen California Marijuana Bills, Including Allowing Medical Cannabis Deliveries Statewide, Head To Governor<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Mexico Is \u2018Falling Behind\u2019 Other Countries On Marijuana Legalization, Top Senator Says, But Congress Will Prioritize Reform In New Session<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The international community is stepping up pressure on Mexico to follow through with its plans to legalize and regulate marijuana, the country\u2019s Senate president says. And while top Mexican lawmakers have taken steps to craft and debate cannabis reform proposals for the past few years without sending any piece ofContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56890"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56891,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56890\/revisions\/56891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Mexico Is \u2018Falling Behind\u2019 Other Countries On Marijuana Legalization, Top Senator Says, But Congress Will Prioritize Reform In New Session<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"