MEXICO CITY The Mexican Senate approved the legalization of recreational cannabis on Thursday, a historic step to alleviate the human rights crisis and consolidate the country as an industrial cannabis power, although activists warn that it is insufficient and must overcome legislative pitfalls.
With 82 votes in favor, 18 against and seven abstentions, the Senate endorsed the creation of the law and the Mexican Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis, in addition to reforms to the General Health Law and the penal code that prohibit the recreational use of marijuana.
Although the endorsement of the Chamber of Deputies is still missing, the historical legislation would place Mexico together with Canada and Uruguay as the only countries that have regulated recreational marijuana, the leader of the Movement for Legalization, Lorena Beltran, told EFE.
If Mexico approves, we would be the third country in the world to legalize all uses at the federal level. This would give us a great boost at the international level to position ourselves as what we are, the main cannabis industry in the world, Beltran said.
The reforms will allow the cultivation of up to eight plants per household, will authorize foods and derivatives with non-psychoactive cannabis, grant licenses for planting, cultivation and harvesting, and guarantee private consumption…
