As the Senate in Mexico prepared to vote on a cannabis regulation bill, the Senate President spoke out on prohibition. Senate President Olga Sánchez Corderopointed out the “prohibitionist culture” developed in the 1960s. According to a translation, “There is no longer room for prohibitionist policy.”

On top of removing prohibitionist policies, Senate President Sánchez Cordero emphasized the urgency of enacting reform. “We are the Mexico of freedoms, and the people are aware of it,” she said at the time. Lawmakers will take up implementation legislation “in the coming weeks or months—but I do not want more time to pass.”

In addition to Senate President Sánchez Cordero statement, Senate Majority Leader Ricardo Monreal Avila, of the ruling MORENA party, says lawmakers are “one to two weeks” away from finalizing the cannabis regulatory bill. 

“With the beginning of the LXV Legislature, a new possibility was opened to discuss and approve this long-delayed law, which would put an end to 100 years of prohibitionist policy and criminalization of the consumption of the cannabis flower, opening, in turn, a multimillion dollar market nationally and internationally, which could be beneficial for the economic reactivation of our country,” Senate Majority Leader Monreal Avila stated.

Legalization

This past summer, the Mexican Supreme Court decriminalized the possession and use of recreational cannabis. They overturned the prohibitionist law, saying it was unconstitutional now as time has gone on. The Justices then left the sale and regulation of a cannabis system up to lawmakers. 

However, lawmakers failed to agree on a bill before the last regular session ended in July. Now, in a new regular session, lawmakers plan to address cannabis legalization and regulation first. 

Next Steps

The proposed law would allow adults 18 and older to purchase and possess up to 28 grams of cannabis at a time. Additionally, they can cultivate up to six plants at home for their personal use. But Senate President Monreal Avila said further revisions may be necessary to get a final bill ready for enactment.

If the law becomes approved during this regular session, some modifications should also become taxed through the legal framework. This will create a special tax on all cannabis sales and its derivatives, such as other products in the country. That includes spirits, beer, gasoline, and tobacco. With the special tax, the Senate President says Mexico could receive nearly a billion U.S. dollars in revenue in a short period of time. However, no bill has made its way onto the Senate or the Chamber of Deputies floor for debate.

As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest.

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