After a clean sweep of victories in the 2020 election in the United States, it looks like marijuana legalization is about to make big inroads across the globe as well.
MEXICO
Last Friday, a number of Mexican Senate committees advanced legislation that would legalize the possession, use, home cultivation, and commercial sale of marijuana for adults. This legislation is in response to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling in the country that deemed laws prohibiting the possession and cultivation of marijuana to be unconstitutional. The court directed the country’s elected officials to amend those laws, with a deadline for the changes being set as December 15th, 2020.
You can read many more details in Marijuana Moment’s in-depth article on the reform activity in Mexico HERE.
ISRAEL
Israel’s Minister of Justice Avi Nissenkorn announced his intention to support and advocate for ending marijuana prohibition in his country, with the goal of legalizing the possession, use, and commercial sale to individuals 21 years of age or older. This comes as a inter-ministerial committee tasked with studying the issue stated they intend to recommend such reforms. The committee is still finalizing its recommendations, but once they are formally released it is expected new legislation based on that release will be introduced and debated in Knesset (there are also other bills currently pending in the legislative body that aim to reform marijuana laws). According to The Times of Israel, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White parties said in a joint statement at the time that they would advance legislation ‘to resolve the issue of decriminalization and legalization.’”
Commenting on the momentum internationally, NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri stated:
“The fight for justice and civil liberties isn’t limited to the United States, where four new states just voted to end their failed prohibition of marijuana, but it is truly a global movement. Arresting otherwise law abiding citizens for marijuana possession makes just as little sense in Mexico and Israel as it does here and we cheer on our compatriots in those countries as they push to make history and advance the cause of humane and sensible cannabis policy.”
