Mexico Cannabis Legalization on the Bubble

Mexico, the next Latin American country on the brink of legalization.

Photo courtesy of NY Post

Mexico City bustles with fluid nightlife. In the Zona Rosa, gay, bisexual and straight bounce around happily and boisterously, their mannerisms full of wild gesturing and loud outbursts. Roma offers upscale, mono-syllabic restaurants with valets; hawkish jovens and senoritas taking orders; and well-dressed locals smoking cigarros and looking about coquettishly. For the young and expat, Roma features boom-boom discotecas, villa-style restaurants featuring servers in Italian-pink vests and strip clubs that cater to the old guard of the ciudad. Condesa is artsy. Young people dress in black with partially-shaven heads, ink sleeves and smoke cigarettes with fashionable dedication. Motorbikes line the sidewalks and teatritos decorate the sidestreets. The streets of Zona Rosa/Condesa/Roma are packed, youthful and amiable. Unmistakable among the magnificent spectacle are wafts of variegated qualities of herb, intermingling with the heavy cologne of European extranjeros and tasty antojitos.

Mexico views cannabis under dichotomized lenses, the peaceful overtones cast by a green haze in accordance with the limited possession law (up to five grams for personal use) and the miasmatic light of cartel violence. As of late, cannabis advocates have pointed out the relationship between the two: more allowances weaken the cartel’s infrastructure and more restrictions up the violence. As a result, Mexico City is discussing decriminalization, a prospect that has brought serious attention from the White House (against) and former Mexican president Vincente Fox (pro).

Photo courtesy of L.A. Times

And why not?

Mota is largely normalized (chilangos discuss herb with notable nonchalance) and decriminalization may prove a serious weapon against cartels and their reign of violence. It’s a discussion of considerable brevity for Mexico, the United States and the cartels, and while Mexico City inhales deep on a Friday night, the latter two keep an eye on el gobierno’s deliberations.