Canada legalizing recreational marijuana in October 2018 was a big deal. It was the first major economy outside of Uruguay to do so. It was a boon for the cannabis industry and long-suffering marijuana stocks. Since then, there have been predictions about when the U.S. will do the same. What nobody expected, though, was that Mexico would beat the U.S. to legalizing recreational cannabis. With Mexico set to legalize marijuana in the coming weeks, that puts pressure on the U.S. to follow suit, since the country will be sandwiched between two nations that sell pot legally. Mexico making recreational pot legal might look like it came out of nowhere, but the issue has been percolating in the country for a while. In 2009, Mexico decriminalized the possession of small amounts of pot. Earlier this year, Mexico published regulations that outlined how it would implement medical marijuana sales. Then, on March 10, Mexico’s lower house voted to legalize recreational marijuana. And the count wasn’t even close, with 316 votes in favor, 129 votes opposed, and 23 abstentions.
Mmp News Author, Medical Marijuana Program Connection, 03/24/2021 22:16:00