Mexico legalizes recreational cannabis with the possibility of self-cultivation

Mexico's Chamber of Deputies passed a bill last Wednesday to legalize recreational cannabis, with 316 votes in favor and 129 against, confirmed the The New York Times. The new law will allow adults to smoke cannabis and, with a license, grow a small number of plants at home. 

The vote came more than two years after the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that a recreational cannabis ban was unconstitutional. Mexico had already approved cannabis for medical purposes in 2017, but recreational legalization is a historic milestone for the country, which is facing a tough drug war, and which could become the world's largest cannabis market.

The Chamber of Deputies approved the project in general terms and the measure will pass through the Senate, before being sent to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who supported the legalization.

In addition to allowing adults to freely use cannabis and self-cultivate some plants at home, the measure will also grant licenses to smallholders and commercial producers to grow and sell their produce.

In this way, Mexico joins Canada and Uruguay, giving more impetus to the legalization movement in America.