MEXICO CITY — Lawmakers in the Mexico Senate overwhelmingly voted Thursday to approve a bill allowing for the use of medical marijuana. The proposal was approved by a vote of 98-7, with one abstention, and now heads to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of the legislature, for consideration.
Under the proposal, marijuana would be allowed to be grown in Mexico for medical or scientific purposes. Industrial hemp — cannabis containing less than 1 percent THC — would be also be made legal to buy, sell, import and export.
Since currently, Mexico allows very limited medical marijuana use. After a court ruling last year the government began issuing permits on a case-by-case basis to allow some patients import medical marijuana products, as well as limited permits to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes. Those permits are extremely limited, and only apply to strains high in cannabidiol (CBD) content.
The legislation approved by the Senate on Tuesday would allow the country’s ministry of health to create regulations for the use, import and production of medical marijuana products, and make those products more easily available to Mexicans, including medical marijuana products rich in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Last year, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition of marijuana is unconstitutional, declaring that Mexicans should have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for their personal use, either medical or recreational. The ruling did not change the country’s drug laws or legalize cannabis, however, but opened the door for lawmakers to more easily reform the country’s marijuana laws.
Tags: medical marijuana, Mexico, Mexico medical marijuana