Recreational use of marijuana will soon be legal in Mexico, leaving the United States as the only major North American country where it remains outlawed; Canada legalized it in 2018. It’s time for U.S. lawmakers to authorize serious evaluations of the drug’s use, and the pros and cons of continued prohibition policies that arguably have destroyed more lives than the drug ever could.
Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies voted 316-127 on March 10 to legalize possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana and the cultivation of up to eight plants at home. Commercial licenses will be available for those who want to grow and sell it commercially.
The Senate passed a similar bill in November, and once differences are reconciled the final proposal will be sent to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is expected to sign it. AMLO, as he is known, has long advocated for legalization as a way to reduce the power of the crime cartels that have held a chokehold on the country for decades and are said to have killed more than 300,000 Mexican citizens.
In reality, it might be too late to have a big effect on the entrenched gangs; they have grown too large and powerful, and expanded their operations to include opioids, both natural and synthetic, kidnapping and human smuggling, and extortion.
Legalization leaves the United States as the lone player that’s still fully dedicated to the controversial Drug War that has filled our prisons with nonviolent offenders and fed a black market that many say increases crime and gang violence.
Despite continued prohibition at the national level, more than a dozen U.S. states have decriminalized marijuana at least to some degree. With decriminalization creating legal markets for the drug, marijuana seizures along the U.S.-Mexican border reportedly fell some 83% between 2015 and 2020.
Drug war proponents insist that marijuana is a dangerous drug and serves as a gateway into the use of harder drugs. Those who favor legalization deny that it leads to increased drug use, and say it has many medicinal uses. Much of the arguments, however, both pro and con, are largely anecdotal, as Congress in the past has passed legislation that prohibits the use of tax dollars for research into any possible benefits of marijuana and other illegal drugs. Cynics might say the lawmakers perhaps fear that legitimate research could weaken their arguments for continued prohibition.
Private research has found practical uses for elements found in marijuana, such as the treatment of glaucoma and as a calmative for cancer patients undergoing chemical and radiation treatments. This has fed a growing market for cannabis-based products boasting all kinds of benefits, some of them unproven.
That market would be made safer if impediments to research were lifted. Valuable medications also might result.
One thing is certain: As more countries and American states allow marijuana use, we also see more growing evidence that the drug’s use is likely much more benign than the gang and police operations that result from prohibition. It’s time our own lawmakers follow their neighbors’ lead, and consider marijuana legalization.
