Mexico City – With the Mexican Senate expected to vote on the bill to legalize marijuana in the coming days, lawmakers are pushing to finalize the legalization bill to meet a deadline set by the Supreme Court.
The court determined last year that the country’s ban on cannabis consumption and cultivation is unconstitutional, and gave lawmakers less than a year to pass rules and regulations for personal use, though lawmakers now want to go even further by legalizing commercial production and sales.
Late last week, Cáñamo México released the 42-page draft of the legalization bill via Twitter. Here are some of the key provisions, according to a translation by Marijuana Moment:
• Adults 18 and older may obtain permits to possess cannabis for personal use, cultivate up to four plants, and purchase marijuana from licensed retailers.
• An independent body called the “Cannabis Institute” would be charged with issuing licenses, setting potency limits and monitoring the implementation of the law, among other responsibilities.
• Low-income individuals, small farmers and indigenous people get licensing priority.
• Strict restrictions would be imposed on cannabis packaging. That includes requiring nondescript, standardized containers that do not feature depictions of real or fictional people or testimonials.
• Marijuana can only be consumed in private spaces.
• Only medical cannabis patients will be allowed to purchase infused edibles & beverages.
• Unregistered seeds or plants would be subject to forfeiture.
• Commercial cannabis plants must be grown pesticide-free.
The committees are expected to formally vote on the proposed legislation in the coming days, after which it will head to the full Senate and then the Chamber of Deputies. Leaders said a vote in the legislature could occur this week, though it’s possible they could ask the Supreme Court for a deadline extension.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose successful election campaign last year was based in part on a platform of drug decriminalization, supports the bill. Mexico legalized medical cannabis in 2017.
Sources: Heraldo Mexico • Ganjapreneur • Marijuana Moment