Mexico’s Supreme Court legalizes cannabis for personal use

This Monday, June 28, Mexico’s Supreme Court voted to pass a Declaration unconstitutional to ban the use of cannabis for personal consumption by adults. Thus, cannabis and tetrahydrocannabinol are now outside the scope of legal articles prohibiting individual use and only allowing their use for medical or scientific purposes. The Declaration will enter into force when published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación and the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS) portal of the Department of Health.

What does the Declaration mean for consumers?

1. Individual consumption of cannabis by adults is now completely legal throughout the country. In other words, the individual right to grow and consume marijuana without affecting third parties is now officially recognized in Mexican law.

2. Consumers must obtain permission to plant, store and transport cannabis for personal use with the Federal Commission for the Protection of Health Risks (COFEPRIS) of the Department of Health. Growing marijuana without a permit will continue to be a crime.

3. As previously, the right to individual consumption for adults does not include the right to import, purchase, sell and distribute cannabis and tetrahydrocannabinol. The permit gives the right to grow, store and transport cannabis for individual use only. Any violation of this rule will void the authorization.

4. It is forbidden to consume cannabis in public places, so it can only be done on the territory of your private property.

Although the Declaration published by the Mexican Supreme Court gives freedom to individual consumption, the purchase of seeds, equipment for growing them and other additional items still remains unaddressed. Once COFEPRIS issues guidelines that regulate individual cannabis use, companies associated with the industry will prepare to present their commercial proposals.