Finally, Mexico's Medicinal Cannabis Regulation Sees the Light of Day

Soft Secrets
15 Jan 2021

If Mexico fully decriminalizes cannabis it will become the world's largest cannabis market, taking that title from Canada.


The regulation is seen as a significant step the country takes in its bid to establish the world’s largest by population legal cannabis market. On Tuesday (Jan 12), Mexico's health ministry issued long-awaited rules to regulate the use of medical cannabis.  Signed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the piece of paper will enable pharmaceutical companies to conduct medical research on different cannabis products.  The regulation is part of a broader set of reforms the Latin American country is taking, including regulating its recreational cannabis market.  According to the rules set in the regulation, national companies with an interest in cannabis research are free to do so once granted they have permission from COFEPRIS, the government agency that regulates health issues.  According to the regulation, any research pursued by these companies needs to be done in strictly controlled, independent labs.  The regulation also clarifies the rules businesses should follow in order to cultivate and harvest cannabis for medicinal purposes.  While some cannabis plant imports are permitted for companies looking to create products, exports of Mexican-grown cannabis is prohibited, reports Reuters. “The standard of regulation is very, very high,” Luisa Conesa, a lawyer and prominent cannabis activist, told Reuters. “(The regulation) is not aimed at patients growing their own cannabis, it is aimed at pharmaceutical companies producing pharmaceutical derivatives of cannabis which are classified as controlled substances that need prescription,” Conesa said. 

Better late than never

The move for Mexico to finally release the regulation has been long-awaited, so to speak. It comes more than three years after the country has moved to legalize medical cannabis. But as is the case these days, countries often legalize medical cannabis only to later introduce restrictive, or in Mexico’s case, delayed regulations that discourage doing everyday business. Mexico’s new regulation is now set to resolve industry issues, however, the lack of regulation has for years deterred foreign investors to the country. The new regulation for medicinal cannabis should especially encourage Canadian and U.S. companies that have, until now, refrained from investing in Mexico due to its hot and cold stance on cannabis. Like its medicinal cannabis regulation, Mexico has also seen repeated delays in legalizing the adult use of cannabis. Last December, the country’s Lower House of Congress petitioned the Supreme Court to request an extension of a December 15 deadline, the date by which the court had time to vote on the legalization bill. The petition cited the ongoing pandemic as a reason for the postponement. It was the fourth time the Mexican government postponed the deadline since ruling as unconstitutional in 2018 the decision to prohibit personal use and cultivation of cannabis. The country is now set to vote on legalization at the end of April 2021. Creating a legal cannabis market poses a considerable challenge for Mexico. It will require unprecedented logistical and administrative efforts nationwide. Although delayed, the brand new medicinal cannabis regulation and the upcoming vote to - hopefully - fully decriminalize cannabis are more than welcome. Mexico has been torn by feuding drug cartels, which have long made millions growing marijuana illegally and smuggling it across borders into the U.S. A legal cannabis market will not immediately solve the country's drug cartel problems, but it will eventually pave the way for access to checked quality weed for everyone while making life harder on criminals.
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