The boards of directors of the commissions turned the opinion over to the Board of Directors in the Palacio de San Lázaro to discuss and vote on it between Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Chamber of Deputies postpones the debate in the plenary session of the law that legalizes the recreational use of marijuana in Mexico for Wednesday, March 10, informed legislative sources.
The opinion was approved on Monday by the Commissions of Justice and Health of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico and was to be sent to the plenary session this Tuesday for debate and final vote.
However, the lengthy debate and subsequent approval of the opinion in commissions motivated the Political Coordination Board of the Chamber of Deputies, made up of representatives of the parliamentary groups, to postpone its discussion in plenary, which is why it does not appear in the order of the day.
With 34 votes in favor, 11 against, and 10 abstentions, the deputies of both committees validated the initiative on Monday, which was already approved by the Senate last November and is pending ratification by the Chamber of Deputies.
Regulation of marijuana obeys a mandate from the SCJN
The regulation of marijuana use obeys a mandate from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, which in 2018 declared the prohibition of recreational cannabis use unconstitutional.
After three postponements, the high court set April 30, 2021 as the deadline for Congress to regulate this matter .
The ruling creates the Federal Law for the Regulation of Cannabis and modifies the General Health Law and the Penal Code to legalize the cultivation, production, consumption, distribution, industrialization, and sale of marijuana under federal control.
It would be allowed to smoke marijuana without the presence of minors, to own up to eight plants per home
The initiative, approved in the Senate on November 19 last year, allows smoking marijuana without the presence of minors, owning up to eight plants per home, and creating smokers associations with a maximum of 50 plants.
It also establishes a licensing system for the planting, cultivation, harvest and sale of marijuana and derivatives with non-psychoactive cannabis.
The text approved in the Senate also provided for the creation of the Mexican Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis, but the deputies overthrew this proposal and established that the already existing National Council against Addictions (Conadic) regulates the regulations on marijuana.
Among the new powers of Conadic would be to authorize and revoke licenses for the production, distribution, marketing and final sale of marijuana, and even to limit or prohibit the acquisition, possession, and consumption of psychoactive cannabis to people over 18 years of age and under 25 as a measure to protect their health.
With substantive and formal modifications to the senatorial minute, the opinion recognizes the right of people over 18 years of age to consume psychoactive cannabis for recreational purposes, as long as the consumption is carried out without affecting third parties, especially minors.
These penalties are provided for carrying between 28, 200 and 300 grams of marijuana
The regulation has been received with suspicion by organizations that defend the recreational use of marijuana since its possession is not completely decriminalized.
The legislation provides for fines for carrying between 28 and 200 grams, and prison sentences of up to 15 years for carrying more than 300 grams of marijuana.
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Source: milenio.com, noticieros.televisa.com
