Will Mexico Legalize Cannabis Next Week Officially? Ex-President Vicente Fox Thinks So!

mexico legalizes weed

Mexico has been having this “will they won't they” relationship with cannabis for the past six years. The entire story behind the legalization movement in Mexico differs significantly from many other countries around the world. Cannabis activists essentially found a loophole within mexico's constitution that allowed them to circumvent a national vote and legally change the status of cannabis.

Roughly three years ago The Supreme Court in Mexico voted for the 5th consecutive time in favor of the legal consumption of cannabis. This final victory was related to a part within the Mexican constitution that guarantees constitutional protection for any citizen in Mexico for the freedom to express their personality as they wish.

Advocates argued that cannabis has a deep rooted culture and has an intrinsic impact on the personality of consumers. This could be easily evidenced by the presence of cannabis related clothing, music, movies, etc. Turns out that the Supreme Court of Mexico it was in full agreement.

What happened then, was that since the Supreme Court voted in favor of a pro cannabis resolution for the 5th time they automatically legalized cannabis. This is also a legal mechanism within the Mexican constitution.

Since The Supreme Court essentially legalized cannabis, it was up to the Senate and the lower chambers to come up with the structure. After several delays and rescheduling, there is a strong possibility that next week cannabis may in fact be legalized in Mexico for anybody 18 years and older.

I had previously written about the proposed legislations in earlier articles but for the sake of saving you all some time I'll just quickly recap what the Mexican cannabis program looks like.

How Mexico will legalize weed?

Essentially, cannabis will be completely legal for anyone over the age of 18. This includes both recreational and medicinal cannabis and will be treated very similarly to tobacco. In Mexico, one can smoke tobacco while walking in the streets and the same will be true for smoking cannabis from the moment that it is legalized.

In terms of possession, it would be totally legal to walk around with up to one ounce of cannabis and if you exceed this limit you may be sanctioned where they find for the quantity up to 200 grams. This provision in particular is not sitting right with activists who claimed that this still criminalizes use and would allow police to abuse their powers. Something that is all too common.

As for home cultivation, adults will be able to grow up to six plants and up to 8 plants per household. In terms of recreational sales, private citizens will have the ability to purchase several licenses to participate within the legal market.

Vertical integration is going to be permitted, meaning that a single company would be able to own the entire supply chain from cultivation to retail.

Some activists are also not happy with some of the technological requirements that the state is proposing, such as expensive technology to track cannabis from seed to sale and so forth.

While this is a very brief overview of what's the new Mexican cannabis program would look like, it gives you an idea about what to expect.

What legalization in Mexico could mean for the United States

If Mexico legalizes next week that would mean that the United States is sitting between two countries with firmly established trade routes who have legal cannabis on the books. This means that the United States would be sitting in between what could be one of the largest intercontinental trades in modern history- namely the cannabis industry.

There are already several international companies eyeballing the Mexican market since Mexico will have an age limit set to 18. This will make it the largest retail market in the world once legalized. it also significantly increases profit margins for private companies since the legal threshold of participation is far lower than that of the United States and Canada.

Not to mention, Mexico has a very skilled and efficient workforce that competes in terms of cost with that of India and China. Couple that was fertile land and year-round cultivation possibilities, and you've got the recipe to create a cannabis powerhouse of international proportions.

The United States will not be able to sit idly by any longer and deny the emergence of the cannabis industry. While Joe Biden is trying to implement a “let the states decide” approach to not offend his backers, The United States will be sandwiched between two countries that will inevitably flood their borders with cannabis.

With many Democrats in the United States advocating federal legalization and strong bipartisan support, there may be a chance that cannabis will also be legalized on federal level in the United States by the end of this year.

There may be some people who disagree with me on this position, however anybody with the slightest understanding of international economics would realize that hindering the process of legalization would be detrimental to the economy of the United States.

With Mexico legalizing, The United States may be forced to follow suit. Currently it's a wait and see situation but the moment that I know the skinny on Mexican legalization, I'll be sure to report on it.