President Pena Nieto to Open National Debate on Mexico's Marijuana Laws Lizbeth Diaz and Gabriel Stargardter - Reuters
go to original November 10, 2015

Mexico leader wants expert debate on pot legalization (Reuters)

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Monday he would open a national debate to review the country's marijuana laws ahead of a key United Nations meeting next year, following a landmark court ruling.

Speaking a few days after Mexico's Supreme Court ruled to allow four plaintiffs to grow and smoke pot recreationally in a decision that could eventually open the door to marijuana legalization, Pena Nieto said he was not personally in favor of legalization as it could induce people into taking harder drugs.

However, he has asked the Interior Ministry to bring together various specialists, including academics, doctors and sociologists, to debate the future of marijuana regulation in Mexico, which has suffered a decade of gruesome drug violence.

"We'll need to establish a debate ... and the federal government is open to that, so that along with the legislative branch, we work together, creating specialized forums, which will allow us to have a much clearer, more open position of the horizon that's coming," he said at an event.

Pena Nieto added that it was necessary for Mexico to identify a coherent position on the matter before a major United Nations drugs policy meeting in April next year.

Read the rest at Yahoo News

Related: Two-Thirds of Mexicans Against Decriminalizing Marijuana - Poll (Reuters)

Related: Mexico PRD Senators Propose New Rules for Pot (The News)

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