Mexican Lawmakers Approve Bill to Legalize Recreational Marijuana

Mexican legislators on Wednesday approved a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, The New York Times reports. Mexico could become the world’s largest cannabis market.

The bill was approved by Mexico’s lower house. It is expected to pass through the Senate before being sent to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has indicated he will sign the measure. It would permit adults to smoke marijuana. Adults with a permit could grow a small number of cannabis plants at home. Producers, including commercial growers, would be granted licenses to cultivate and sell marijuana. A recent poll found that almost two-thirds of people in Mexico oppose legalizing marijuana.

If Mexico enacts the legislation, it will join Canada and Uruguay in a small but increasing list of nations that have legalized marijuana in the Americas.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate are supporting legislation that would end the federal prohibition on marijuana, the article notes.