Legalization in Latin America: Who’s Next to Mexico?

In arguably the biggest cannabis news from Latin America in some time, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the ban on adult cannabis use was unconstitutional. That means you can now drive the 7,498 miles between Sydney, Nova Scotia and Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, which goes solely through jurisdictions where cannabis is legal (although you shouldn’t try to cross international borders with cannabis).

After Mexico’s historic move, cannabis watchers wonder who will be the next newsmaker. Here are some countries to keep an eye on, in alphabetical order.

Photo by Fabian Schmiedlechner / EyeEm / Getty Images

Argentina

A bill to regulate medical cannabis and industrial hemp was presented in June. As explained in a previous post, medical cannabis was legalized in Argentina in 2017, but inadequacies in the regulatory framework have forced many patients to turn to the black market.

RELATED: Mexico’s Supreme Court Legalizes Individual Adult Cannabis Use

In addition, a draft law on legalizing cannabis for adults was presented by MP Enrique Estévez back in November 2020; As soon as new regulations for medical cannabis and industrial hemp are in place, it will be logical to move on to recreational use. Although President Alberto Fernández believes that such legalization must be handled “with great care”, he has a “very liberal attitude” on the issue. In addition, parliamentary elections in November could bring reformist winds to Congress.

Chile

As we recently described in a post, Chile is in the process of drafting a new constitution. Given the composition of the Constitutional Convention, we can expect the resulting document to pave the way for full legalization. There is also considerable support for legalization within the cohort of mayors elected in May. It is likely that the legislature will see a similar trend in the Congress elections later this year. In addition, one of the leading candidates for the presidency, Communist Daniel Jadue, openly supports legalization. All in all, the stars vote for legalization in the land of poets.

Photo by Ignacio Amenábar via Unsplash

Colombia

Last year the Chamber of Deputies rejected a bill that would have legalized cannabis for adults. In the Colombian Senate, however, a new legalization law was introduced at short notice. According to some analysts, the newer proposal has a higher chance of success as it would legalize cannabis through new regulations rather than requiring a constitutional amendment like the failed bill. Additionally, the framework of the new bill would put government at the center of the legal cannabis industry, structure licensing to benefit smallholders and benefit historically marginalized communities. These features can help make legalization attractive to a wider constituency.

RELATED: Latin America is moving towards legalization with a few absurd exceptions

The three countries mentioned above are far from the only interesting jurisdictions in Latin America and the Caribbean. There might be dark horses that surprise us. Rest assured we will be here to tell you about it.

Fred Rocafort is a former diplomat who joined Harris Bricken after more than a decade of international legal experience, mainly in China, Vietnam and Thailand. This article originally appeared on the Canna Law Blog and was republished with permission.