Should Mexico Legalise, Will Become the World's Biggest Cannabis Market

In January, Mexico made a significant step as part of its efforts to regulate its grand cannabis market. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador signed a piece of paper that enabled pharmaceutical companies to conduct medical research on different cannabis products. The medical regulation rules were long-awaited, but perhaps even more-awaited is the country's bill to legalise adult-use of cannabis. Should lawmakers proceed with recreational market legalisation, it will make Mexico effectively the world's largest serving market in terms of population. At present, Mexican lawmakers have time until 30 April 2021 to decide whether they move on with full legalisation. It wasn't the first time when the country postponed the vote last December, as the Lower House of Congress submitted a formal petition to the country's Supreme Court to request an extension to a prior set legalisation deadline by 15 December. The Supreme Court accepted the plea and extended the deadline until the end of April. Before that, in November, the Mexican Senate voted on a landmark cannabis bill to legalise the world's largest cannabis market that will serve almost 130 million Mexicans. The Canadian market, the world's currently largest regulated recreational market, does roughly 37 million in comparison. During the Senate vote, which sent the bill to the Congress house, an overwhelming majority of 82 voters favoured the legalisation, and with 18 against - the opposition was minuscule. The Lower House of Congress cited COVID-19 and the ongoing pandemic when it later requested the court to postpone their part of the vote. Since the court accepted the complaint, it became the fourth time that the Mexican governing structures extend the deadline since ruling as unconstitutional in 2018 the decision to prohibit the personal use of cannabis and its cultivation. Suppose there is anything positive of all this delaying. In that case, lawmakers can use more time to amend flaws on the bill, expanding the bill to include legal support for those affected by the prohibition and removing remaining criminal penalties and sanctions. Shaping the Mexican legalisation looks to similar advantages as U.S. bills where state-by-state legalisation rapidly advances, aiming to correct racial injustices related to marijuana convictions and support small businesses from gaining access to financial services. The U.S. also wrote history recently after on 4 December the House of Representatives voted in favour of decriminalising cannabis at the federal level. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is the lead sponsor of the Senate companion version of the bill. Simultaneously, following President Joe Biden's election, cannabis stocks have been continually gaining new peaks month after month. So, it's generally exciting to follow cannabis news on the other side of the pond. There might even be a race at the end of who legalises first - Mexico or the U.S.