A Mexican Supreme Court Judge Proposes Legalising Recreational Marijuana Use in the Country

The possession of small amounts of marijuana has been decriminalised in Mexico since the year 2009. Those who consume it, however, are often prosecuted. The country is now beginning to take steps towards something that many have been expecting: the plant's legalisation.

Arturo Zaldívar, minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, believes that prohibition is not compatible with the free development of users’ personalities, and that each individual should be able to decide whether he will use cannabis responsibly. Therefore, he proposes legalising the cultivation, transport and consumption of the product for recreational purposes.

To achieve this, on October 28 he will present a proposal before the first chamber of the Court in which he intends to declare five articles of the General Health Law unconstitutional, specifically referring to those prohibiting the planting, cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal consumption. He will not, however, seek the legalisation of grass’s sale.

His proposal would benefit users and associations, such as the Mexican Society for Tolerant and Responsible Personal Consumption, a coalition of clubs that requested government permission to grow plants for recreational use a couple of years ago, but was turned down by the Federal Health Hazard Protection Commission.

In order for the initiative to be enacted three of the five judges need to endorse it. While Zaldívar is one of the most liberal jurists on the Court, such attempts are often blocked by the Court's most conservative members.

But all is not lost. The political sector in the Latin American country and its society are increasingly open to the sector's regulation, especially after the publicity surrounding Grace Elizalde, an 8-year-old girl who needs medical cannabis in order to deal with her epileptic seizures. In addition, many intellectuals, academics and public figures have been joining forces in support of policies that would put an end to prohibition, especially in the field of health.