By The leader of Mexico’s Baja California state last week expressed full support for medical cannabis as debate over the issue continues to irritate lawmakers in the country.
Baja California governor Marina del Pilar Avila told reporters that she “fully supports the legalization of marijuana as a treatment for chronic diseases.” As quoted by the news agency Border Report.
As the outlet pointed out, Now, “the Mexican Senate is debating legalizing the widespread use of pot in Mexico.”
However, Avila’s support for treatment is not shared with other Baja California leaders.
The mayor of Mexicali, the capital of Baja California, Norma Bustamante, almost immediately “opposed Avila’s statement,” according to Border Report.
“As a civil servant, I have always respected the law and as a woman, mother and grandmother of teenagers, I am against the use of drugs, including marijuana and tobacco,” Bustamante said. Border report quote.
Adrian Medina Amaryllas, Baja California’s health secretary, disagrees.
“Once countries allow medical marijuana use, it will be the first to be used to treat chronic conditions such as cancer and Parkinson’s that do not respond to conventional treatments,” Medina said. As quoted in the outlet.
Long a strong cannabis producer and exporter, Mexico’s marijuana laws are shrouded in ambiguity. As Leafley says: “it’s complicated.”
“Marijuana is currently in legal circulation in Mexico. Not totally legal, but not totally illegal either.” leafy I will explain. “Medical cannabis is technically legal in Mexico, but there is no legal framework to obtain a prescription or prove one’s legal medical status. Possession of up to 5 grams of cannabis is effectively decriminalized nationwide, but local and federal police often do not respect this status.”
As for recreational cannabis, the federal government has decriminalized cannabis in 2009, along with many other drugs in limited amounts, by authorities seeking to free up resources and separate public health concerns from transportation. “Possession of up to 5 grams of cannabis is effectively legal. A crime.
“According to law, people found in possession of less than 5 grams of cannabis should be encouraged to enroll in free treatment programs, but in practice they are released from custody. The law states that the purchase or possession of more than 5 grams can be punishable by imprisonment from 10 months to 3 years. You will not be prosecuted for any personal amount.” Leafley explains.
The uncertain nature of that policy has led advocates and lawmakers to call for comprehensive cannabis reform.
In August, Olga Sánchez Cordero, president of the Senate Governing Council, “seemed Mexico lagging behind Latin America and the rest of the world on this issue, and therefore sought approval for reforms regulating cannabis.” said. According to a Mexican news magazine processo.
The magazine reported that in Sánchez Cordero’s inaugural address, she said, “Sen. He detailed that he had asked her why she had not regulated it.
“Now Senator Margarita Valdez said at a conference she had, all the brothers from South America, Chile, Argentina and Colombia asked her when Mexico would take this important step in regulating cannabis. He told me, in my opinion, and I’m telling you in good faith, that if we don’t move forward on this issue, we’re falling behind the world.” Sanchez Cordero quote processo.
Additionally, the outlet noted that she “referenced other issues on the relevant legislative agenda and will be discussed at the next regular session beginning Sept. 1, the National Code of Civil and Family Procedures, Consumer Protection , protection of immigrant energy and human rights.”
