Top Mexican Senator Says MJ Legalization Will Be A Priority This Year

That’s largely because of a Supreme Court mandate to reform the nation’s cannabis laws, which came after a 2018 ruling deemed prohibition unconstitutional. But in any case, Sen. Ricardo Monreal of the ruling MORENA party laid out 17 issues that he said he will work to build consensus around by meeting with coordinators of the chamber’s parliamentary groups over the coming days.

“These are all priorities for us,” Monreal, who serves as president of the Senate’s Political Coordination Board, said at a press conference.

When Congress reconvenes on February 1, the Senate will “return to the issue of jurisdiction and raise the welfare system, pensions for the elderly, cannabis, outsourcing, judicial reform, financial system reform, circular economy, electoral reform [and] animal welfare to constitutional status,” he said.

As Monreal acknowledged, lawmakers are obligated by court order to establish a legal framework for cannabis. And they came close late last year, when a legalization bill that had the approval of several Senate committees was set to go up for debate and a vote.
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