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| Recent legislation in Mexico has made it legal for four to grow and consume their own marijuana. Photo: Travis | FlickrCC. |
You may have heard that Mexico recently made it
legal to private citizens to grow their own marijuana for personal use.
This would be something of an over reaction. What the Supreme Court did there
was make it legal for some people, specifically four people from the Mexican
Society for Responsible and Tolerant Personal Use, will be allowed to grow and
consume their own weed.
Just four people. Not exactly a
blanket legalization, which will kill off the Mexican cartels that run rampant
throughout the country. But, it’s still an interesting case that may help get
the ball rolling on more widespread legalization of the drug.
Following the legalization of
marijuana in several U.S. states, the Mexican government has been under
increased internal pressure to legalize weed. In 2009 they made it legal to
carry up to 5 grams, but that hasn’t been seen as enough of a move toward
legalization. President Enrique Pena Nieto has been firm that he doesn’t want
any change in drug policy in Mexico, a country where drug
cartels are responsible for tens of thousands of killing each year.
The ruling could establish a
precedent that allows more people to grow for personal use. The ruling states
that preventing people from growing for personal consumption is
unconstitutional, but so far only apply to those four people. Further suits
could expand that number, and likely will over time.
Legalization, whether simply
for personal use or for sale, would likely hurt the cartels, who would lose
some of their business at home. They would still be able to make quite a bit of
money off the drug in the United States though, as long as it remains illegal
in most states. Not that legalizing marijuana in states like Washington or
Colorado has, or will, completely eradicated illegal use there, but it does
reduce it.
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