Mexico close to legalizing recreational marijuana 2:46
(CNN) ––
When Javier Zaragoza wakes up in the morning, he prepares a joint for breakfast.
Repeat this four times a day.
For the past five years, he has grown six marijuana plants for personal use at his home in Chimalhuacán, State of Mexico.
“I think it's fine because it's for personal use.
I don't have to buy it from organized crime, "he told CNN.
"And somehow people no longer see you as a criminal," he added.
Soon, this could stop being a crime.
The Mexican Senate is expected to pass a new law to legalize cannabis in April, two years after the country's Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to ban the drug.
The President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has already shown his approval of the bill.
Regular recreational use of marijuana, historical for Mexico 0:59
The legislation would allow adults 18 and older to smoke marijuana, grow up to eight plants for personal use and carry up to 28 grams of weed with them.
It will also grant licenses to grow, research and export cannabis.
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Zaragoza said that as soon as it becomes law, he will feel more secure.
“Sometimes I am afraid of the authorities.
They can easily stop me for these plants.
This law would make me feel safer at home, "he said.
Currently, the General Health Law in Mexico allows people to carry up to five grams of cannabis.
However, having more can be grounds for criminal prosecution.
“Prohibition does not reduce addictions or organized crime;
It's the opposite, they get stronger, ”Senator Patricia Mercado of the Movimiento Ciudadano party told CNN.
She plans to vote in favor of the bill.
Legal marijuana: the countries in the Americas that have legalized the use of cannabis and those that have not
Last year, Mexico's National Defense Secretariat destroyed 2,807 hectares of cannabis plants and seized 244,112 kilograms, according to official figures.
However, Mercado believes that legalizing the drug rather than fighting it could give the country a powerful economic engine.
“We have been left out of an industry that can be powerful in these times of economic crisis, of unemployment.
We could generate income and jobs, this is important, "he said.
Mexico is the most important source of foreign marijuana in the United States.
In 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized nearly 249,000 kilograms along the southwestern border, according to the DEA's 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment. .
Although, according to the same report, cannabis grown and produced in the United States –– which is legal in several states–– has already displaced products grown in Mexico in the US market.
Legalization against drug trafficking in Mexico
Many in Mexico hope that the legalization of cannabis will eliminate a source of income for the country's powerful and violent drug cartels.
But experts say historically high homicide rates, in part associated with cartel violence, are unlikely to decline with the legalization of marijuana.
In 2020 alone, Mexico registered 34,515 homicides.
Controversy after decriminalization of cannabis in the Senate 1:59
“This will affect (organized crime) in some way.
But when it comes to crime figures, it will have no impact at all, "said Eduardo Guerrero, a security analyst based in Mexico City.
Guerrero added that cartel-related deaths are often linked to activities other than the sale of cannabis.
“The violence and executions are no longer related to the sale of marijuana.
Most of the country's hit men who generate violence are in other businesses.
They traffic cocaine and heroin to the United States, extort money from people and smuggle migrants, "he explained.
Éctor Jaime Ramírez, a federal deputy for the National Action Party who voted against the legalization project, told CNN: “We are quite sure that (legalization) is not going to reduce violence because there is no evidence that it has occurred in another country. ».
However, the legalization of cannabis in Mexico could reduce the threats that Mexican consumers face when purchasing it.
“The real benefit is for the young people who want to buy it.
They don't have to go to hidden places and suffer attacks or be recruited as traffickers, ”Guerrero explained.
Young people in Mexico are vulnerable to being recruited, assaulted or injured while buying drugs from traffickers.
The usual outlets are in dangerous neighborhoods, and anything can happen during the purchase.
“Buying marijuana from a dealer is dangerous;
I haven't done it for a long time, but it was complicated, ”Zaragoza recalled, taking a drag on his joint as he spoke.
You don't know who you are going to meet.
You can be mugged.
CannabisMarihuana
