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Wonder how long this will take? 180 days? And what the regulations will be?:
The law authorises the Ministry of Health to create new regulations for medical marijuana use, as well as "how to regulate the research and national production of them."Looks like it will be 180 days: The Ministry of Health will have 180 days from the entry into force of this Decree, to harmonize the regulations and regulations in the therapeutic use of TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL of the following isomers: 6a (10a), 6a (7), 7, 8, 9 , 10, 9 (11) and their stereochemical variants.Another article I posted, incorrectly said that medical marijuana would be 1% or less of THC. I think it was translated wrong. I suspect this is what the article meant to say: It also establishes that industrial products with concentrations of one percent THC or less would be legal to buy, sell, import and export.Looks like Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, is thinking like RAD or Relegalize All Drugs, in that if marijuana is a problem it should be a medical problem rather than a criminal problem. [President Enrique Pena Nieto] said they [narcotics] should be viewed through a public health lens which doesn’t criminalise users.Now this is nice: Peña Nieto’s decree effectively eliminates the criminalization of the medicinal use of cannabis, THC, CBD, and all cannabis derivatives. It also legalizes the production and distribution of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic uses. Mexico just legalized medical marijuana By Amanda Erickson June 21 at 2:24 PM Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a decree this week legalizing medical marijuana. The measure also classified the psychoactive ingredient in the drug as “therapeutic.” The new policy isn't exactly opening the door for medical marijuana dispensaries on every corner. Instead it calls on the Ministry of Health to draft and implement regulations and public policies regulating “the medicinal use of pharmacological derivatives of cannabis sativa, indica and Americana or marijuana, including tetrahydrocannabinol.” It also tasks the ministry with developing a research program to study the drug's impact before creating broader policies. The measure had broad support from Mexico's Senate and Lower House of Congress, where it passed 347-7 in April. Marijuana legalization advocates are celebrating the decision and calling on the government to do more. Sen. Miguel Barbosa said the legislation was “well below the expectations of society.” Sen. Armando Rios Peter called it a “tiny” step away from a failed drug policy. For decades, Latin America has struggled to address the rampant corruption and violence wrought by the drug trade. Lately, many places have focused on a particular strategy: decriminalization. As my colleague Josh Partlow wrote last year: “Uruguay has fully legalized weed for sale. And a large chunk of South and Central America, including Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica, have made marijuana more available in varying ways, whether it is for medicinal or recreational use.” It's a recognition, he wrote, that “years of violent struggle have failed to stem the flow of narcotics into the United States.” Even so, conservative Mexico kept its tight drug laws in place. In part, it was because legalization was unpopular. One poll found that about 66 percent of Mexicans oppose decriminalization of marijuana. [I find that difficult to believe. I have read that one out of every five Mexicans are involved in the illegal drug business in one way or another help produce the drugs sent to the USA.] Also, violence around drug trafficking has had a tremendous impact on the country — experts estimate that 100,000 people have been killed in the past decade because of the cartels. The Catholic Church also remains staunchly opposed. “A drug is a drug even if it’s sold as a soft medicinal balm. Bad Mexican copycats emulate the neighbor to put on the table of ‘sane democracy’ a bleak, absurd and counterproductive debate,” the church wrote in an editorial. “Recreational marijuana is a placebo to ease the pain of the social destruction in which we irremediably wallow.” That's beginning to change, though. Recreational marijuana is still broadly prohibited in Mexico, but the government is considering a measure that would let citizens legally possess up to an ounce of it. In 2015, Mexico's Supreme Court granted four people the right to grow their own marijuana for personal consumption. The ruling set a precedent that could accelerate efforts to pass legislation permitting broader use of pot. “Absolute prohibition is excessive and doesn’t protect the right to health,” Justice Olga Sánchez Cordero said at the time. Peña Nieto, who once was a vocal opponent of drug legalization, has undergone a similar shift in thinking. He has said that addiction should be thought of as a “public health problem” and that users should not be criminalized. He has also advocated for the United States and Mexico to follow similar policies on drug use and marijuana legislation. “So far, the solutions [to control drugs and crime] implemented by the international community have been frankly insufficient,” Peña Nieto told the General Assembly Special Sessions in April. “We must move beyond prohibition to effective prevention.”
Mexico legalises medical marijuana The bill passed with overwhelming support in the Senate and Lower House of Congress The President, Enrique Pena Nieto, has officially published a bill allowing its use for health and scientific purposes. The bill was passed in April, with an overwhelming 371 members of the Lower House of Congress voting in favour, with only 19 politicians voting against or abstaining. It also received popular support from the Mexican Senate in December, with 98 senators voting to pass the bill and seven voting against. The law authorises the Ministry of Health to create new regulations for medical marijuana use, as well as "how to regulate the research and national production of them." It also establishes that industrial products with concentrations of one percent THC or less would be legal to buy, sell, import and export. Recreational use of marijuana remains broadly prohibited in Mexico. But President Nieto – once staunchly anti-drugs – has called for a global rethink towards narcotics. He said they should be viewed through a public health lens which doesn’t criminalise users. Mexico has been particularly hard hit by drug violence. An ongoing drugs war has killed around 80,000 people since 2006. It now joins a small number of countries, including Canada and Portugal, which have legalised the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Steve Rolles, a senior policy analyst on drug policy with the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, told The Independent: "Its outrageous that for decades now, drug war politics have prevented doctors from making licensed cannabis products available even when it is their clinical judgement that they are the best option for their patients. "Access to medicines is a fundamental element of the right to health and it is, of course, great to see Mexico joining many other countries in changing its law to finally allow access to those in need. "It does, however, highlight the continuing injustice faced by both doctors and patients in the UK who seek access to licensed cannabis-based medicines, but are still denied this basic right."
Mexico Legalizes Medical Marijuana Published 21 June 2017 The ruling eliminates the prohibition and criminalization of acts related to the medicinal use of marijuana and its scientific research. Following overwhelming support from Congress, the medical marijuana bill was passed with a significant majority. The legislation received a 347-7 vote in favor of its approval. Mexico’s Secretary of Health, Dr. José Narro Robles, voiced his support for the measure, saying, “I welcome the approval of the therapeutic use of cannabis in Mexico.” “The ruling eliminates the prohibition and criminalization of acts related to the medicinal use of marijuana and its scientific research and those relating to the production and distribution of the plant for these purposes,” according to the Lower House of Parliament. Peña Nieto, who previously opposed the legalization of cannabis, called for a re-examination of global drug policy after a 2016 nationwide public debate on legalization. “So far, the solutions (to control drugs and crime) implemented by the international community have been frankly insufficient,” Peña Nieto said while addressing the United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions in April 2016. “We must move beyond prohibition to effective prevention.” Last year, the president enacted a motion for provisional leniency that would allow Mexican citizens to possess up to an ounce of cannabis without repercussions. But, the bill stalled in Congress. The decree was issued by the president and specifies that the Ministry of Health will be tasked with drafting and implementing the regulations of tetrahydrocannabinol, its isomers and stereochemical variants, as well as the research and national production of them. Currently, the only cannabis that will be permitted must contain 1 percent or less of tetrahydrocannabinol. Additionally, the Ministry of Health will be required to study the medicinal and therapeutic effects of cannabis before creating the framework for a medical marijuana program infrastructure. Peña Nieto’s decree effectively eliminates the criminalization of the medicinal use of cannabis, THC, CBD, and all cannabis derivatives. It also legalizes the production and distribution of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic uses.
This is the order Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed. It's in Spanish http://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5487335&fecha=19/06/2017
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