Could Mexico be the third country to fully legalize recreational weed?

Based on recent happenings, the future looks green for Mexico, where cannabis was legalized for non-commercial recreational use on October 31, 2018, by Mexico’s Supreme Court. With legal cannabis in Mexico, the country could greatly contribute to the already-bulging North American cannabis market, which raked in $9.2 billion in 2017.

Mexico’s soon-to-be foreign minister Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón has stated how he thinks the North American country will “absolutely” follow in the footsteps of Canada, where recreational cannabis was legalized on October 17. Following a discussion with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, the war on drugs “doesn’t work.”

“We think it is a very interesting option in the short term for Mexico,” Ebrard declared. “It doesn’t make sense to have a law forbidding the possession or production of cannabis and we have 9,000 people in jail for that, we have a huge amount of violence in the country.”

Illegal cannabis in Mexico earns drug cartels billions of dollars every year

Mexico stands to earn some serious cash if legal weed becomes a reality. Legalization could boost the economy, what with statistics revealing how Mexican cartels earn anywhere from $19 billion-$29 billion from drug sales in the U.S. every single year.

There’s no wonder why cartels are earning so much. The country has supplied not only cannabis but also, myriad other drugs to the states for a very long time. Notwithstanding, cannabis in Mexico remains illegal, a situation that Mexico’s Supreme Court recently deemed as being unconstitutional. Cannabis prohibition has encouraged drug cartel violence and especially so since the army was deployed by the government to engage in bloody battles with cartel members. The violence has been ongoing since 2006; since the very moment the government intervened.

Ebrard thinks legal cannabis in Mexico is inevitable

“There are two options: the Canadian model or the Uruguay model,” says Ebrard.

December 1 is the date on which Mexico will welcome its new foreign minister, which is precisely the time when the recently-elected President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will take his position.

The forthcoming president has campaigned hard against the war on drugs, which has undoubtedly failed in Mexico. Nonetheless, he hasn’t exactly supported cannabis legalization in Mexico, either. 

Perhaps he will step up his game and behave just like the former Mexican President Vicente Fox did. Fox batted hard for legal weed in Mexico as a way of overcoming issues pertaining to violence and drug cartels.

Cannabis decriminalization in Mexico is a good start

Decriminalization is a good stepping stone and it indicates serious progress for full cannabis legalization in Mexico. However, decriminalization doesn’t exactly legalize recreational use.

“They establish that courts must allow it, but it is still up to each individual to press his or her case in the judicial system,”  reads a statement from the Associated Press.

When the court ruled to decriminalize cannabis in Mexico last month, it was actually the fifth time that such a ruling had been decided upon by the Supreme Court. Five separate cases resulted in the rule being enacted across Mexico’s entire court system. So really, it’s just a waiting game for legal cannabis in Mexico.

Author information: Questions/inquiries for the author? You can get in touch with Bethan Rose by emailing her at [email protected].