Mexico’s Congress Announces Marijuana Legalization Debates in 2016

1. Mexico’s Congress Announces Marijuana Legalization Debates in 2016 A leading Mexican legislator has announced that the country’s Congress will hold a series of debates on the legalization of marijuana in the new year.

2. “This will be an unprecedented year for Congress in terms of exchange of information, evaluation and debate in which legislators and specialists involved” Jesus ZambranoGrijalva, chairman of the Standing Committee of Congress, said in a statement on Sunday. “We can talk, ask questions,listen to doubts, opinions and suggestions about what should be a global policy on drugs in our country. This is an issue we have to discuss, so it must be a true exercise of enrichment.” The announcement of the discussion sessions, which are set to begin on 25th January, less than two months after the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled that people have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for personal use. While that case currently applies only to the four individuals who brought it, the right to grow and use cannabis become binding at national level if the court ruled similarly  a handful of times more. “Only a comprehensive alternative can help solve this social problem, because we understand that prohibitionist policies and violence that would address when it is advanced from a frontal fight against organized crime linked to drug use and trafficking have not produced the expected results “ZambranoGrijalva said in the press release. The recently announced discussion sessions will cover topics such as human rights, medical cannabis, prison overcrowding, consumer health, public safety and ways to regulate the production of marijuana.

3. “I am convinced that a great deal of violence and overcrowding in prisons we have in the country will be resolved when a process of using marijuana for medical and recreational purposes concludes (for those who want it), all accompanied by controls , preventive measures and medical care, “said ZambranoGrijalva. President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, has said he opposes the legalization of marijuana, but welcomes a national dialogue on the issue. Apart from the debates in Congress simply programmed, administration of Pena Nieto announced earlier this month that it would hold a series of five regional forums on cannabis policy. But ZambranoGrijalva said lawmakers are not willing to wait and let the executive dictates the country’s marijuana policy. “We must legislate with the greatest possible consensus taking into account the proposals from all sectors involved,” he said. The legislator made a point to distinguish the change of marijuana prohibition policies actively encourage people to consume cannabis. The discussions do not indicate “a call to all people to smoke marijuana just because he was legally permitted,” he said. Following is the full list of schedule debate sessions and topics.

4. Monday, January 25, 9:30 a.m. – 11am Chamber of Deputies / Public Hearings: Consumer regulation, self-production and human rights. Analysis of free personality development and other fundamental rights. Freedom, autonomy and self-sufficiency in the production and consumption of cars. Right to protection of health outcomes and costs of the ban on the health and viability of cannabis treatments. Comparative Perspective on the recognition of the right to self-produce and consume marijuana (Case Uruguay, Spain, Colombia, etc.) Right to information and the use of cannabis: what consumers have a right to know. Monday, January 25, 11 a.m.- 4: 00pm Chamber of Deputies / Regulation in the international context: Obligations of the Mexican state against the international regime. Adjustments to regulatory frameworks. Scope of the international regime of control. Analysis and adoption of international best practices.

5. Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. – 1.00pm Chamber of Deputies / Regulation regarding penal policy and prison system: Achievements and costs of the current policy. Regulation amounts, quality, origin and destination at any stage of the production chain. Procedural alternatives in terms of: addictions The consumers Narcomenudeo Release, granted early release and commutation of sentences. Social and labor reinsertion. Wednesday, January 27, 9:00 a.m. – 1.00 pm Chamber of Deputies / Regulation on public safety: Analysis, impact and costs of prohibitionist policies on public safety. Analysis, impact and costs of regulation on public safety. Customs control market and Black. Control policies. Possible impacts on the dynamics of organized crime and drug trafficking. Policies to prevent risky behaviors. (Violence, driving under the influence, etc.)

6. Thursday, January 28, 9:00 a.m. – 1.00pm Chamber of Deputies / Rules concerning its medicinal or therapeutic use: Regulating production plant health, quality and safeguards. The scientific evidence of efficacy and safety in treating diseases. Its use as an alternative treatment or drug substitution. Tuesday, February 2, 3:30 pm – 7.30pm Senate / Effects of marijuana on the health of consumers and public health: Consumer Health: Substances, consumer and context: the complexity of the interaction of the variables on the impact of drugs on the body. Immediate effects on the respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous system immune psychological. Long-term effects and risks of prolonged use of marijuana. Consumption patterns and impacts on health. Risk of increased consumption in vulnerable populations. Proclivity impact and the use of other substances: marijuana as a “gateway drug” and “drug-out”.

7. 2. Public Health Results, impact and costs of prohibitionist policies on public health. What challenges to the normal state involves the use of marijuana? Programs and public health policies Budgetary impacts and costs. Technical, personnel and infrastructure. Reclassification of marijuana in terms of its psychotropic effects. Creating databases and defining objectives, goals, interventions and impacts allow ongoing evaluation to measure the effectiveness of public policies. Unforeseen side effects. Wednesday, February 3, 9:00 a.m. – 3.00pm Senate / regulation of consumption in relation to the treatment of addictions: Analysis of the current policy of containment or reduction of addictions. Potential for dependence or addiction to marijuana. Possible risks increased consumption. Addiction potential of various substances and varieties. Awareness campaigns for vulnerable groups. Budget for the prevention and treatment of addiction. Possible effects on disease burden.

8. Thursday, February 4, 3:30 pm – 7:30 pm Senate / Ordinance on liability for damages against third parties: Identification and analysis of actual and potential damage to third parties. Scheme for civil, criminal, labor and administrative responsibility for a new regulation. Tuesday, February 9, 3:30 pm – 7:30 pm Chamber of Deputies / Regulation in relation to its sanitary control: Results, analysis and costs of prohibitionist policies of disease control. Safeguards plant health and production quality Classification of cannabis potency, the definition of measures establishing maximum concentration of cannabis THC in relation to the fundamental right to information. Establish criteria for the operation and functioning of the clubs. Establishment of powers, regulators and the budgetary impact of new regulations. Wednesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. – 1.00pm Chamber of Deputies / proper regulation for production, distribution and sale of marijuana:

9. Production regulation for recreational purposes. Possible models formal market regulation of marijuana. Trade regulation (interior and exterior). Possible lessons learned and today regulated substance (snuff and alcohol). Regulation of advertising. February 16, 3:30 pm – 7:30 pm Senate / design public policy to regulate marijuana: Definition of the public problem to be addressed. Defining objectives and goals of a new public policy. Analysis of the costs and the risks against the potential benefits. Definition of interventions and mechanisms to achieve the goals and objectives. Development of methods and tools of measurement, evaluation and monitoring. Wednesday, February 17, 9am – 1.00pm