The Mayor of Mexico City has come out in support of marijuana legalization, stating that the issue is one both of personal freedom and of fighting drug cartels.
“My position is always the defense of freedoms,” stated Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera in an interview with El Universal. “I do support legalization.”
Legalization would “be a blow” to the drug cartels that have perpetuated violence for years throughout Mexico and along its northern border, argues the Mayor, who stated that legal cannabis “would not be attractive for purposes of drug trafficking.”
Mayor Mancera has indicated in the past that he may be considering a bid for the presidency in 2018, and stated that if elected he would work to reform current marijuana laws. Currently, President Enrique Peña Nieto is against legalizing cannabis, although he has said that he is in favor of a national dialogue.
Mancera’s statements on cannabis follow on the heels of an announcement by the country’s Congress that it will hold a series of debates regarding marijuana legalization. The debate will involve sociologists, medical practitioners, academics and the public, and President Nieto has stated that the result of the debates could change his outlook on legalization.
Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in November that the personal production and consumption of cannabis should be legal, although the ruling did not change the law.
Mancera also introduced a bill to Congress in December that would legalize the importation of medicines made from cannabis.
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