Last year, the sale of medical marihuana was approved by Mexico’s federal government. However, there remains a thicket of red tape to be untangled before the law is actually enacted.
But in a Guadalajara park last week, weed enthusiasts, a breed rarely interested in sitting on their hands waiting for governments to give them the — ahem — green light, flouted the uncertain status of medical marijuana and gathered for a conference and trade show where cannabis products were sold.
Conference attendees availed themselves of a smorgasbord of different ingestible or skin-applicable products made from the potent member of the Cannabaceae family. In addition, a variety of different smoking tools were available for sale, including pipes encrusted with beads, as well as multi-colored glass models tortured into serpentine shapes.
The majority of those present for Cannafest GDL were over 35 and interested in weed for its uses to treat symptoms arising from a variety of maladies. One of the most prominent presenters was Erika Sevilla, mother of “Montse,” the first child in Jalisco to receive legal permission to be treated with medication – she suffers from West Syndrome, which wracks the sufferer with epileptic spasms – made with cannabis.
“I used to have a different perception of marijuana as a result of its demonization,” said Sevilla. “But now I cultivate it myself. I just hope the authorities don’t raid my home, because I’d be taken away to jail.”
At the time the medical marihuana legislation was passed, July 19 of last year, authorities indicated that the law would be enacted within 180 days. So far, they’re two months behind schedule.