Mexico’s supreme court on Wednesday ruled that a group of four activists can legally grow and use marijuana – a ruling that a few believe might open the door to future legalization of the drug. After almost a year of fruitless meetings with congressmen to discuss legalizing and regulating marijuana. the four of them formed the Mexican Society for Responsible and Tolerant Consumption (SMART) in 2013.
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“We are killing ourselves to stop the production of something that is heading to the USA, where it’s legal”, Armando Santacruz, one of the four plaintiffs in the case, said.
Political pressure on Mexico to liberalize its stance on marijuana has been rising since the USA states of Washington and Colorado legalized possession and sale of the drug for recreational use in 2012. Because of this, both countries have signed a bilateral initiative to help combat drug trafficking.
A supporter of the legalization of marijuana wears a Lucha Libre wrestling mask decorated with a marijuana leaf, as he celebrates outside the Supreme Court in Mexico City, Wednesday, November 4, 2015.
The ruling applied only to four members of an advocacy group pushing to decriminalize marijuana, but could eventually lead to a legal precedent that would cripple laws against personal pot use. The United States is the main market for marijuana grown there. A surge in violence has left more than 70,000 people dead and about 25,000 missing since then-President Felipe Calderon send the army to battle drug cartels in 2006.
Speaking to Time, the plaintiffs’ lawyer cited the ruling as the first step to recognizing human right of liberty and dignity. After today’s ruling, the group used its Facebook page to thank people for their interest in joining, and said they’ll soon announce seven projects around Mexico, along with enrolment information. For example, drinking in the street is forbidden in many parts of Mexico. Despite the American-backed war on drugs in Mexico, the flow of drugs to the USA has continued and the country has been submerged in violence for decades.
However, the legalization of marijuana the war on drugs, but many activists believe that legalizing the drug would make life easier for Mexicans who opt to use the drug. After all, no one has ever died of a marijuana overdose, and in states that have legalized it, there haven’t been any of the ill effects opponents of legalization warned of.
The public debate on marijuana has surged in Mexico in recent months since the case of an 8-year old girl with epilepsy who became Mexico’s first medical marijuana patient made national and worldwide headlines.
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“Mexico has promoted in worldwide forums, including the United Nations, a broad discussion to confront the global challenge of drugs”, he wrote on Twitter.
