Marijuana advocates gathered last week in Guadalajara’s Plaza de La Liberación to smoke some weed and collect signatures for a petition to send to the nation’s health regulator (the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks or Cofepris), demanding that the agency start to issue permits allowing citizens to cultivate and consume their own cannabis.
In June, Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalized the private recreational use of cannabis by adults, calling the current prohibition unconstitutional. However, the court established that health authorities must initially issue permits for recreational marijuana use and cultivation. This has not happened, largely because the wide-ranging bill to legalize marijuana and provide a regulatory framework for its distribution and use remains stalled in Mexico’s Congress.
Many of those who took part in last week’s “Fumathon” in central Guadalajara said police abuses against marijuana users continue due to the continued lack of clarity in the law.
Once permitted, anybody over 18 years of age will be able to possess up to 28 grams of cannabis, the Supreme Court ruled. Mexico’s health code currently allows for possession of up to five grams of marijuana for personal use only, although this law is open to different interpretations, advocates for legalization say.