The Senate leader of Mexico’s ruling party said that the lawmakers will vote on a bill to legalize marijuana for adult use by the end of the month.
There are numerous pieces of legalization legislation already on the table, but Sen. Ricardo Monreal of the MORENA party said his chamber is nearly done crafting a new reform bill that will be the product of weeks of public forums and open-session debates. Members of the other half of Mexico’s legislature, the Chamber of Deputies, will be invited to weigh in on the bill.
“We’re thinking that we’ll bring the law out, approve it, at the end of October,” Monreal said. “That’s the schedule we have.”
That would mean that lawmakers are expecting to meet a Supreme Court deadline to end federal cannabis prohibition. Last year, the court ruled that the country’s ban on personal possession, use and cultivation of marijuana was unconstitutional and said the government must formally legalize those activities by October. Many key lawmakers have said the country should go even further by legally regulating cannabis sales and production as well.
The Senate held a series of events in recent weeks meant to solicit public input on legalization proposals and hear from experts on the issue in order to inform their bill. During one panel, a former White House drug czar spoke about the need for “robust regulations” in a legal cannabis market.
The chamber held another forum on the international marijuana market on Monday.
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Mexican Senate Leader Says Marijuana Will Be Legalized This Month
