Historic First Debate on Marijuana Legalization Kicks Off in Cancun teleSUR
go to original January 27, 2016

A protester carries a sign saying "Make a joint, not war" during a rally in support of marijuana legalization in Mexico City. (Agence France-Presse)

Mexico launched its first national forum on the question of marijuana legalization Tuesday in the Caribbean city of Cancun, the first of five historic debates that could change the future of marijuana prohibition in the country.

“This is an issue that has directly or indirectly affected the lives of millions of Mexicans,” Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said at the forum, which was broadcast online in the name of broadening participation. “Such a delicate issue cannot be left to improvisation.”

The event touched on issues of public health and potential addiction with recreational marijuana use. The other four debates will tackle other themes related to personal pot consumption.

The series of debates comes after Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in November that recreational use of marijuana is a constitutional right, a historic decision that raised expectations of impending legalization.

The ruling related to a particular case of marijuana cultivation for recreational use brought before the court, and did not change Mexico’s prohibitionist drug laws. President Enrique Peña Nieto, who opposes legalization but has been open to debate on the topic, was quick to clarify that the country’s marijuana laws remain in place despite the ruling.

Read the rest at teleSUR

Related: Mexico Is Having the Grown-Up Conversation About Marijuana That Every Country Should Have (Quartz)

Related: Mexico and Marijuana: For a Plausible Debate on Drugs (Mexico Voices)

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