420 with CNW — Legislators in Mexico to Vote on
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A vote to legalize cannabis in Mexico is scheduled for this week in the Chamber of Deputies; the vote comes months after the Senate approved the measure. Despite this move, however, legislators state that there’s still no formal revised legislation.
The Political Coordination Board, which was set up by party leaders to agree on various legislative matters, scheduled the proposed bill for floor action on March 9. Martha Tagle Martinez, a member of the chamber’s health committee, stated that there was still no draft opinion, adding that any legislation would have to pass through the Health and Justice Committee where it would be analyzed, discussed, and altered then that draft opinion approved, before it was sent to the floor.
Martinez also revealed that the current legislation that has been approved in the Senate does not fulfill the Supreme Court’s requirement, which had in 2018 judged the prohibition on personal growing and possession of cannabis to be unconstitutional.
Legislators have been charged with ending cannabis criminalization in the country but haven’t done so yet, preferring instead, to repeatedly postpone deadlines to approve the change in policy.
Presently though, the legislature has until the end of April to legalize marijuana in the country.
Last month, the Health Committee held a preliminary discussion on marijuana legalization, with members of the panel declaring that they’d like to hold four sessions to debate the measure. However, those sessions have yet to be convened.
The Senate had approved the marijuana legalization bill earlier in November and sent it to the Chamber of Deputies shortly after. The bill would allow adults aged 18 and above to grow up to six plants for personal use and to buy and possess up to 28 grams of cannabis; the bill would also set up a regulated marijuana market.
Marijuana policy reform advocates across the country are eager for legislators to formally end marijuana prohibition. They are working on convincing the legislature to look into their concerns about some provisions of the current measure, particularly its strict penalties for violation, the limited nature of the bill’s social equity components and the proposed registry for self-cultivators. In addition to this, activists also want to increase the percentage of licenses given to individuals who had been affected by prohibition.
In an op-ed coauthored by Amaya Ordorika Imaz, the co-ordinator of the ReverdeSer Colectivo, and ZaraSnapp of #RegulacionPorLaPaz and Instituto RIA, noted that incorporating a social justice outlook was necessary because it would help encourage the growth of an inclusive and horizontal market that promoted fair conditions for communities in vulnerable situations and dignified participation while also steering clear of the formation of corporate oligopolies.
Back on U.S. soil, lots of companies are thriving in jurisdictions with legal marijuana markets. For example, Grapefruit USA Inc. (OTCQB: GPFT) operates the Rainbow Dreams brand through which the company serves the recreational cannabis market with premium products capitalizing on natural flavors and rare cannabis strains.
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