Mexico top court decriminalizes recreational marijuana use

Mexico’s Supreme Court on Monday decriminalized recreational marijuana use.

The top court made it legal for citizens to personally use marijuana and grow a set amount of the recreational drug as long as they obtain a permit for it from the country’s Health Department, The Associated Press reported.

The court’s decision does make it illegal to grow over a certain amount of marijuana, for minors to use it and to use marijuana before operating heavy machinery such as a car.

Households are only allowed to grow eight marijuana plants, while individuals can grow up to six. A person can be fined for more than one ounce of marijuana and receive jail time for more than 12 pounds of marijuana.

The court stepped in to implement these rules after Congress took too long to pass legislation following the Supreme Court’s decision declaring marijuana prohibition unconstitutional, according to AP.

The Mexican Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 2019, and lawmakers were supposed to have legislation passed by the end of April, which the country’s lower chamber did but the Senate did not.

The Supreme Court’s rules will stay in place until the Senate passes legislation on the matter.

Medical marijuana has been allowed in Mexico since 2017.

Many states in the U.S. have moved to legalize marijuana for recreational use, with pressure on federal lawmakers to completely decriminalize the drug.