Mexico is about to legalize marijuana

In June 2017, Mexico became one of the 40-plus countries to legalize medical marijuana.
Last October, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled, for the fifth time since 2015, that an absolute ban on recreational use of marijuana was unconstitutional.
Now the Mexican Senate looks likely to fully legalize and regulate marijuana.

The Senate leader of Mexico’s ruling party said that the lawmakers will vote on a bill to legalize marijuana for adult use by the end of the month.
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“We’re thinking that we’ll bring the law out, approve it, at the end of October,” Monreal said. “That’s the schedule we have.”

That would mean that lawmakers are expecting to meet a Supreme Court deadline to end federal cannabis prohibition. Last year, the court ruled that the country’s ban on personal possession, use and cultivation of marijuana was unconstitutional and said the government must formally legalize those activities by October. Many key lawmakers have said the country should go even further by legally regulating cannabis sales and production as well.

That would make the U.S. be surrounded by nations with legalized marijuana.
Cartels cannot be happy about this trend.

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illegal marijuana imported by the cartels has to compete with the legal supply of medical marijuana. Legal marijuana is fresher, there is a large variety and there is no personal risk of sustaining injuries while purchasing it. As a result, profit margins for Mexican cartels in the marijuana market have dropped drastically.

Lower profit margins reduce the incentive for Mexican cartels to engage in violence. On the one hand, the new laws reduce the benefit of using violence to protect the supply of marijuana. On the other hand, violence is costly to the cartels – recruiting, outfitting and maintaining the loyalty of soldiers is no cheap feat. Therefore, when the profits of the trade decrease, violent crime related to drug trafficking also decreases.

The biggest state to decide legalization in 2020 should be Florida.

The state of Florida requires proponents to collect valid signatures equal to 8% of the total votes cast in the state in the most recent presidential election to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That translates into a little over 76,000 signatures.
Regulate Florida has already gathered more than 83,000 signatures so far.

According recent polls, 65% of Florida voters support legalizing recreational pot.
Florida would instantly become one of the largest markets for marijuana.

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another myth bites the dust

According to a recently published study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth marijuana use decreased in the nation's first three states to legalize recreational pot.

The CDC study, released October 4, reports that marijuana use among children in sixth to tenth grade residing in King County, Washington — the state's most populated county and home to the Seattle metro area — actually dropped from 2012 to 2016. Further, the CDC study reported that youth marijuana use in Colorado and Oregon followed the same trend. All three states legalized recreational marijuana sales by 2015.

Two possible reasons cited by the CDC for the decline or absence of youth marijuana use were the possibility of the plant losing its novelty appeal, as well as the reduction of the illicit market in states with regulated sales.

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edg's picture

@gjohnsit

the decline of youth marijuana use due to the plant losing its novelty appeal

As with Facebook, once old fogies start using it, it's no longer cool.

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Hawkfish's picture

@edg

And please don’t try smoking it!

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

...to keep Americans IN!

Otherwise, next thing you know...

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

boriscleto's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

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