An anticipated ruling by the Mexican Supreme Court lays the foundation for the country to implement cannabis legalization. The 4-1 court decision didn’t end cannabis prohibition immediately, but it opens the door for future lawsuits and action to eventually legalize marijuana. Many advocates in the United States have wondered whether the U.S. Supreme Court would ever strike down marijuana prohibition, just as it recently legalized marriage equality. Whether that will ever happen is to be seen, but the Mexican Supreme Court has provided some guidance for other courts to follow. The New York Times reports:
The vote by the court’s criminal chamber declared that individuals should have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for their personal use. While the ruling does not strike down current drug laws, it lays the groundwork for a wave of legal actions that could ultimately rewrite them, proponents of legalization say.
The decision reflects a changing dynamic inMexico, where for decades the American-backed antidrug campaign has produced much upheaval but few lasting victories. Today, the flow of drugs to the United States continues, along with the political corruption it fuels in Mexico. The country, dispirited by the ceaseless campaign against traffickers, remains engulfed in violence.
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The legal ruling on Wednesday barely referred to the bloody backdrop of the drug war. Instead, Justice Arturo Zaldívar wrote an 88-page opinion based on principles of human rights, arguing that the state recognizes an individual’s autonomy to engage in recreational activities that do not harm others.
The decision, based upon civil rights and individual autonomy, is relatively similar to the Alaska Supreme Court case of Ravin v. State, where the court ruled that the state hadn’t demonstrated a sufficient need to intrude into people’s homes for personal marijuana use. Too many people have undergone violent SWAT-like paramilitary raids over marijuana. The government should not bring violence into a nonviolent situation. It is very promising that Mexico seems to be moving away from the failed policy of cannabis prohibition. Legalizing and regulating cannabis will bring great benefits to the Mexican people and will help continue the momentum for sensible cannabis law reform across the globe.
