# Mexico to Vote on Legalization of Cannabis (Marijuana) - New Bill Could Affect US



## LoggedIn (Nov 21, 2017)

Mexico to Vote on Legalization - The Paper.

*December 9th, 2021 at 11:16 am*

"After years of deadlock in the Mexican government, legalization efforts for the country appear to be gaining steam. A draft of a legalization bill was recently found circulating among Mexican senators, and expectations are high for its success.

Legalization in Mexico could have far-reaching effects in the U.S. The increasing number of states legalizing cannabis has forced Mexican cartels to completely change the way they do business. The amount of illegal cannabis going across the border from states like California into Mexico has increased in recent years, an apparent reversal of the traditional flow which brought illegal marijuana from Mexico into the U.S. In August customs agents reportedly confiscated hundreds of cannabis oil cartridges that allegedly came from the states.

Legalizing cannabis in Mexico could potentially remove much of the incentive to traffic the drug into the U.S.

*Pot’s Current Status in Mexico*
Mexico outlawed cannabis in 1920 as part of the global shift to demonize hemp.

In 2018 Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the government to ban cannabis use and ordered legislators to develop a legal framework for the distribution, sale and regulation of the drug. Lawmakers have been unable to agree on a policy, however, and the given deadline has been pushed back on numerous occasions.

In June, after years of delays and in light of Congress’ unwillingness to find a path forward, Mexico’s Supreme Court decided to take matters into its own hands and voted to strike down some of the laws that criminalize recreational cannabis use in the country. The court ruled that adults could apply for permits to grow and consume cannabis for personal use.

The ruling doesn’t leave Congress off the hook, though. Lawmakers are still required to approve some kind of cannabis regulation legislation. In the three years that have passed since Mexico’s Supreme Court order, legislators have been unable to agree on a plan. The bill has been passed back and forth between chambers with multiple revisions made in that time with no outwardly visible progress.

But advocates hope this will finally be the year that Congress acts. Last month Senate Majority Leader Ricardo Monreal Ávila tweeted that cannabis legalization will be a priority this session. In October Monreal said he believed that the bill has a good chance of passing, although it will require further revisions.

The draft bill that’s currently being circulated among lawmakers is fairly similar to a version that was passed by the Senate last year but was ultimately left in limbo when lawmakers pointed out several flaws that would need revision. It would allow adults 18 and older to purchase and possess up to 28 grams of cannabis. The bill would also allow adults to grow up to six plants for personal use. If passed, the bill would require the formation of the Mexican Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis, which would operate under the control of the Ministry of Health. The agency would be responsible for issuing licenses, regulating cannabis companies and initiating public education campaigns. Retail licenses would have to be issued within 18 months of the bill being signed into law.

The current draft of the law includes social equity provisions that would ensure at least 40 percent of cultivation licenses go to people living in communities that were most negatively impacted by cannabis’ prohibition.

Monreal says he expects lawmakers to vote on the bill by Dec. 15.

*Legalization’s Effects*
If Mexico does legalize cannabis, black market trade of the drug might slow to a trickle. The cartels would likely continue to operate—for the last decade, they’ve been ramping up methamphetamine and heroin production to offset losses to legal cannabis—but their bottom line would still be dealt a serious blow as their revenue opportunities narrow.

Some might decide to go legit, like the Sinaloa cartel—one of the most violent criminal organizations in the world—purportedly has decided to do. According to The Daily Beast, representatives of the cartel spoke to reporters and said the organization is prepared to abandon its criminal practices and become legitimate cannabis entrepreneurs the moment Mexico legalizes the drug for adult use. Cartel farmers reportedly told reporters that they are already upgrading their farms to incorporate more sophisticated growing methods and breeding techniques.

At the very least, cartels will no longer have the same incentive to move illegal marijuana across the border into the U.S. It will be much more lucrative to sell cannabis legally in Mexico.

*Global Economy?*
Mexico isn’t the only country of note to consider legalizing pot. The new German government recently announced that it plans on legalizing cannabis for adult use and regulating its production and sale. If it can beat its neighbor Luxembourg—a country also currently proposing legalization—it will become the first country in Europe to fully legalize the possession and sale of the drug.

This is reassuring to hear, and advocates can be forgiven for excitedly declaring that cannabis legalization is sweeping the globe. But a single glance at a map of the world’s cannabis laws will put that sentiment to bed. Marijuana remains illegal for the vast majority of the world and will continue to be so for a great many years to come. A century ago—for reasons that continue to elude historians—the entire planet turned its back on cannabis. It’s taken some time to turn around deeply embedded prejudices against the drug and expecting it to become fully accepted overnight is unrealistic.

It took us a while to get into this mess, and it will take a while to get back out."


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

LoggedIn said:


> Mexico to Vote on Legalization - The Paper.
> 
> *December 9th, 2021 at 11:16 am*
> 
> ...





LoggedIn said:


> Mexico to Vote on Legalization - The Paper.
> 
> *December 9th, 2021 at 11:16 am*
> 
> ...


I wonder if AMLO agrees with this proposition. It might not fly with his base of supporters, or maybe it would!


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

But they still haven't passed anything, right?

I think the courts had previously given them a deadline to pass something by Dec 15, but it seems it hasn't happened unless I missed the news.

And as for AMLO's party supporting it, I don't think _any _of the parties are really much in favor of it, it's the courts which have mandated they pass something. Hence the multi-year foot dragging.


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## LoggedIn (Nov 21, 2017)

eastwind said:


> But they still haven't passed anything, right?
> 
> I think the courts had previously given them a deadline to pass something by Dec 15, but it seems it hasn't happened unless I missed the news.
> 
> And as for AMLO's party supporting it, I don't think _any _of the parties are really much in favor of it, it's the courts which have mandated they pass something. Hence the multi-year foot dragging.


That makes sense. Yes, I noticed the Dec 15th "deadline" and that has come and gone. I am looking in Google but I don't see any movement on this matter. It's so weird but I can tell you that local US-based cannabis growers/suppliers are none too happy about this proposed legislation but I cannot get them to elucidate in a manner that I can understand why they are upset.

I'm missing something.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Consider this: https://news.yahoo.com/california-pot-companies-warn-impending-202704687.html

And then ask yourself what happens when growing in northern Mexico becomes legal (assuming permits are obtained)? How much of what is grown legally in Mexico would subsequently be diverted into the US black market? And what would that do to US black market prices? And what would the result be for the legal US growers?

Or even just consider fully legal competition. Mexican growers producing legally using labor paid at Mexican farm worker rates, eventually producing bottles of CBD oil that get legally exported into the US and sold in California's stores. Mexico will very likely be able to produce a bottle of legal CBD oil for a _lot_ less than a California grower with their higher costs for land, labor, and licensing.


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## LoggedIn (Nov 21, 2017)

Your points (inc the link and thank you for that) are spot on. Then we have this..."more U.S. states are poised to join the legal ranks in 2022, while others could add to the number of medical marijuana states to help take the country well above the current 36 states. Crucially, multiple bills are circulating around Washington, D.C. right now that aim to introduce sweeping Federal marijuana legalization, which will be an overnight game-changer and supercharge the space and the stocks." Big Marijuana Stock Profits in Surprising Places

What we have is a mess - economically, legally and socially.


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## LoggedIn (Nov 21, 2017)

Another point of view

_"Colombian-Canadian company Khiron Life Sciences (represented through one of its board members, former Mexican President Vicente Fox), Canada’s Canopy Growth, Green Organic Dutchman and Californian corporations are among those comparing the opportunity to enter a legal Mexican market in the long term. It was reported that the opening of 400 possible retail outlets in the main centers of the country for the sale of CBD and legal hashish products over the next 3 years through a Mexican company that has also partnered with Vicente Fox."_


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## LoggedIn (Nov 21, 2017)

A 2022 Review Of Mexican Cannabis Law
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIgSYF0ijko


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## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

I haven't followed all the links in this thread - but I think the only reason there is a delay in the legalization of cannabis is because the power players are still positioning themselves.

I live in a rather affluent area. In the fall there was a whole production company at one house (a mansion actually) with truckloads of 'props'. Perhaps a dozen cars with a new company script on each for advertising. They were filming commercials for pot related products...


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## Rammstein (Jun 18, 2016)

I ran across this yesterday--Bloomberg - Are you a robot? Thoughts?


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## kphoger (Apr 22, 2020)

Rammstein said:


> I ran across this yesterday--Bloomberg - Are you a robot? Thoughts?



Through a series of links, I finally got to the actual report. And, considering that I'm not a scientist, it is quite unclear to me just how much "potential" and "effect" it had. Could be significant, could be miniscule: I couldn't tell from skimming over the report.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

So wasn't something supposed to happen on this by December 15th? I didn't hear that anything happened. Did they kick the can again?


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## Rammstein (Jun 18, 2016)

kphoger said:


> Through a series of links, I finally got to the actual report. And, considering that I'm not a scientist, it is quite unclear to me just how much "potential" and "effect" it had. Could be significant, could be miniscule: I couldn't tell from skimming over the report.


Cannabis CBD Might Be Highly Effective at Preventing COVID


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## kphoger (Apr 22, 2020)

Rammstein said:


> Cannabis CBD Might Be Highly Effective at Preventing COVID


The linked study in that article is full of useful data.



Cannabidiol inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication through induction of the host ER stress and innate immune responses


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