Mexico president floats referendum option on recreational marijuana after court says to legalize

Medical Marijuana

29/06/2021 18:54

By Raul  Cortes
    MEXICO CITY, June 29 (Reuters) - Mexico's President Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday he will respect a court
ruling telling the government and lawmakers to legalize
recreational marijuana use for now, but opened the door to
convening a public referendum on the issue.
    The Supreme Court ruling on Monday brings Mexico closer to
creating one of the world's largest legal cannabis markets and
pressures the Mexican Senate to approve the sweeping
legalization bill that has been stalled there since the Lower
House of Congress approved it in March.
    "Of course we're going to respect what the court has decided
and we're going to evaluate. We're going to see what effects it
has," Lopez Obrador said at a regular news conference in
response to a question about the Supreme Court's decision.
    However, Lopez Obrador acknowledged "there are two views" on
the legal weed issue, including in his cabinet, and said his
government was evaluating the best path forward.
    "If we see ... that it's not working to address the serious
problem of drug addiction, that it's not working to stop
violence, then we would act," the president said, suggesting he
could send a new bill to Congress or push for a public
referendum. 
    Lopez Obrador has in the past used referendums to decide
thorny policy issues. On Tuesday he again laid out the argument
for such "participative democracy" in the context of the
cannabis debate. 
    His comments were not decisive however, and he did not
explicitly say he was leaning toward such a solution.
    Colombian-Canadian Khiron Life Sciences  KHRN.V , Canada's
Canopy Growth  WEED.TO  and The Green Organic Dutchman
 TGOD.TO , as well as Medical Marijuana, Inc.  MJNA.PK  from
California, are among the firms eyeing opportunities in Mexico.
    The court ruling removes a legal obstacle for the health
ministry to authorize activities related to consuming cannabis
for recreational purposes, and was the final step in a drawn-out
legal battle to declare unconstitutional a prohibition on
non-medical or scientific use of marijuana and its main active
ingredient THC.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2OA2QF
    Lopez Obrador said he will instruct health regulator
Cofepris to comply with the ruling to authorize activities
related to the cultivation, transformation, sale, research and
export or import of marijuana.

 (Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez; Writing by Anthony
Esposito; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
 ((anthony.esposito@tr.com; +5255 5282 7140;))