Last week was a historic week in the Mexico Supreme Court. They famously challenged Mexico’s strict substance abuse laws by voting to allow citizens the right to grow and distribute their own marijuana for personal use.
This ruling, similar to the wave of legalizing marijuana in the United States, doesn’t change the current federal government’s drug laws. Yet, also similar to the United States, this ruling does lay the groundwork for future legal actions that could ultimately rewrite the strict drug laws in the country.
Mexico’s Supreme Court’s decision reflects the changing cultural opinions of marijuana use in the United States and Mexico. Many have come to the realization that the anti-drug campaign that’s been going on for years has had many failures and few successes. While drugs continue to make their way into the United States from Mexico, the money and efforts spent to stop them have been fruitless. The shift in cultural opinions also ignited the debate about how effective it is to imprison drug users (especially marijuana users) with little to show other than an increased prison population filled with non-violent criminals.
Mexico’s strict drug laws have not stopped other Latin American countries from turning away from the drug war in favor of marijuana. Uruguay was the first country to enact legal marijuana in 2013. Chile collected its first harvest of medical marijuana this year. Brazil has been heatedly debating the legalization of marijuana and other drugs and Bolivia even allows the traditional use of coca (used to make cocaine). These cases are just a few examples of the larger shift in drug policy seen across the Americas and the world.
Back in Mexico, many realize the problem with spending so much money to stop production of something that is becoming more legal in the United States. While only a few think this ruling will significantly reduce drug-related violence, it’s a start. Something that could significantly affect the drug cartels marijuana business is real legislation in the United States. Once it is fully legal in the United States, and higher quality weed becomes more of a demand, the weed supply from Mexico could start to dry up.
With so many states and countries hopping on the marijuana legalization train, we here at Las Vegas ReLeaf are ready to service local and traveling patients, providing the marijuana medication they need during their travels to Las Vegas.,