Mexico’s Supreme Court issues vague support for ending ban

On May 11, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of “Édgar,” a young man who has been criminally prosecuted for four years for cannabis possession. While he was acquitted of his “crime,” the court failed to completely eliminate the criminalization of mere possession, ruling that prosecutors and judges, not the police, should decide whether possession is for personal use or not .

According to at least some of the judges, this was a win. “The fact that the prosecutor’s office can institute criminal proceedings against a person who possesses more than 5 grams of cannabis for personal use amounts to a punishment of moral qualities [and] personal conduct that has no constitutional basis,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Juan Luis González Alcántara. “Criminal prosecution of the person who possesses cannabis in a private setting without impairing third parties or provoking a criminal incident is not justified.”

However, proponents believe this is a muddy, inconsistent court decision (after years of dissenting). They say the ruling is contradictory because it doesn’t completely remove the criminal charge of personal property. Also, it gives prosecutors too much leeway in deciding whether to press charges. People arrested for possession can still be detained by the police for up to 48 hours and of course the resources consumed by this activity are still correspondingly large. In 2020, more investigation files and investigations were initiated for simple cannabis possession than for homicides (nationwide).

Determine the pace of reform?

The decision is also clearly surprising to court observers. Almost alone in the world (aside from decisions in South Africa and Georgia), for the last seven years, the Mexican Supreme Court has taken a bold stand on the link between cannabis possession, use and basic human freedoms and rights. And of those three countries, the Mexican court was not only the most vocal, it also issued the most judgments at the time.

The decision also came shortly after the Oaxaca City Council voted to bar police from arresting cannabis users as long as they behave respectfully. It also comes as Mexican lawmakers are still working on a cannabis bill that had to be passed by the court last year.

In other words, the court’s decision could reflect a reluctance on the part of the country’s top judges to dictate to lawmakers the amount that qualifies for personal possession — in this case, 30 grams — while they consider how to deal with a proposed law to legalize cannabis.

Despite the court order, the legislature has only pushed the issue forward at a snail’s pace. You should complete this last December. Instead, the federal process has repeatedly stalled at the federal level. However, the Mexican Congress could vote to legalize it this year.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador remains ambiguously hesitant on the whole matter.

An ongoing conflict between the courts and the legislature

The struggle in Mexico at the highest legal level has been ongoing since 2015, when the court invalidated parts of the country’s health law, de facto legalizing the cultivation, possession and use of cannabis. Last year, the court also ruled that bans on personal consumption are a guaranteed personal freedom. However, the earlier decision did not take into account the 5-gram decriminalization measure in place since 2009. Persons in possession of larger quantities still face a prison sentence of up to three years.

That’s what Mexican proponents hoped this decision would resolve as lawmakers slowly move forward with passing legislation.

Could the Mexican government approve recreational use this year?

The decision comes at an interesting time, literally five weeks after Israel decriminalized its use. At this point, Mexico has been at the “frontier of legalization” for seven years. Presumably, however, if either the United States or Germany enacts legalization measures, this will also push Mexico to finally decide the fate of its cannabis users through formal law, rather than through high-level judicial decisions.

That means 2022 could be a record year for legalizing countries – and, as a result, a tipping point for global leisure reform.

It will certainly be an interesting and fascinating 8 months on a global scale.

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