The Supreme Court is forcing Mexico to legalize weed, sort of

By Nathaniel Janowitz

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Supreme Court voted that laws prohibiting the use of recreational marijuana were unconstitutional on Monday. The vote came after the Mexican Senate and Congress have repeatedly failed to finalize a Supreme Court-mandated cannabis legalization bill that has now missed three separate deadlines.

But while certain laws prohibiting recreational marijuana have now been erased, weed is hardly legal in Mexico.

Lisa Sánchez, a prominent Mexican drug policy activist and director of the civil association Mexico United Against Crime, called the supreme court decision “very technical” but said: "If I had to translate it simply, the court recognized that the use of cannabis is protected by human rights."

The court ruling ordered the Mexican government to issue permits for personal marijuana use and the cultivation of small amounts of cannabis plants for any citizen 18 or older who applies. These kinds of permits have existed since 2015 but only for those who filed a court injunction.

However, the majority of cannabis restrictions still remain after the vote.