By Jon Hiltz

 

In a private meeting with California lawmakers who were visiting his country, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto brought up the issue of marijuana legalization in the Golden State.  California currently has Proposition 64 ready to usher in recreational cannabis should it get the likely go-ahead from voters in November.

Prognosticators and members of the media predict that with Pina Nieto’s open-minded view of at least discussing cannabis reform, recreational MJ in California will be the catalyst for legalization in Mexico.

If federal legislation were to take place south of the American border, that would mean the United States would find itself in a legalized marijuana sandwich between Canada and Mexico.  Surrounded by cannabis legalization, the U.S. would indeed be forced to catch up if they plan on keeping any semblance of a secure border.

John Walsh is a Senior Associate at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a human rights advocacy group focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean. He believes that recreational cannabis will happen in Mexico, but not for a while. “In one major respect they are very far along, but in most respects, they’re not.”

John is referring to the Supreme Court decision in Mexico in 2015 that declared marijuana a human right as the step forward, but politicians and legislators are a different group altogether.

“The Mexican legislature is still a long way away from that.  In Mexico, public opinion is very skeptical about legalization.  The propaganda that the drug war has used for decades has had an impact.  So the question is, in the face of public fear and skepticism, how willing is political leadership to move ahead and tackle the issue?”  John went on to add that medical marijuana does see support in Mexico, which is at least a start.  “They have an allowance for people to use it, but not a system in place for people to produce it.”

John does believe that if Proposition 64 is successful that it could have an effect on Mexico’s outlook. “It may help change [Pena Nieto’s] mind, but the evolution of this is going to come after his presidency. The impact of what is happening in the United States and Canada is already having an important effect on the debate in Mexico.”

In last Wednesday’s hour-long meeting between the President of Mexico and Californian delegates, California State Senator Ben Allen stated that the Mexican government is clearly paying attention to Prop 64.

President Pena Nieto has gone on record as saying Mexico and the U.S. should not have diverging policies on marijuana legislation.  Further to that, there is currently a decriminalization bill in the Mexican Congress to allow citizens to carry up to an ounce of marijuana without penalty.

Regardless of differentiating views on how to bring cannabis into mainstream acceptance, it is clear that North America’s leaders are not the only ones watching what happens in November.  Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and California have initiatives in play that could bring recreational cannabis to its citizens and tourists alike.