The Mexican Senate has voted overwhelmingly to legalise marijuana in a bill that will end prohibition. The bill passed by 82 votes to 12 with 7 abstentions. While the bill has not finished all of its steps towards becoming a law, it could potentially be enacted by the end of this year.
It is hoped that the legalising of marijuana will reduce the criminal activity related to the drug trade and lead to increased tax revenue for the Mexican government.
Under the new laws, strict conditions will be placed on growing and selling the drug and the trade will be tightly controlled by the Mexican government. The Mexican state believes that legalisation will mean control of the trade in marijuana, and the huge amount of money it generates, can be stripped away from the drug cartels that blight the nation. The law means that anyone over 18 can grow up to 28 grams of marijuana for personal use and possess as much as 200 grams at any one time.
Lisbona Jassan, who is a lawyer working for companies investing in the new Mexican marijuana market, said when discussing the new laws with Forbes magazine:
"It's quite possible that we will have some kind of basic medical marijuana market in the near future. We have pending regulations that will not take long to be implemented. Medical regulations are set to be published by the end of 2020 after being put on hold since 2017. But, lawmakers in Mexico still have a lot of work to do. They need to develop the Mexican Institute for Cannabis Regulation and Control, which is expected to start operating just six months after the law is enacted. We need to train public servants on how to regulate the sector. It's a huge task."
All sales of the drug will be subject to a 12% tax that will fund drug-rehabilitation programs.
With a population of 125 million people, Mexico will become the most populous country in the world to legalize the drug. South Africa, Uruguay and Canada have already legalised marijuana.
Mexico has suffered for years as a result of the international drug-trade. While there are many drug-users and drug-addicts in Mexico, most of the deaths and violence associated with the illegal trade have been connected to major cartels shipping drugs into the United States.
The multi-billion pound industry has been fought over by private armies of criminals who have murdered tens-of-thousands of people, including many innocent civilians. The huge amount of money generated from smuggling drugs into the US has also allowed these cartels to buy up political power, corrupt public officials, and buy popular support in some poor communities. While many of the drugs are grown in Mexico, particularly heroin and marijuana, others are imported from South America, which the Mexican cartels then take over the border to the US.
Through the legalisation process, it is hoped that both corruption and violence can both be curtailed.
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