US, Mexico discuss cannabis legalization

Two U.S. House members and one senator who participated in a recent congressional delegation to Mexico discussed marijuana legalization with officials from that country’s incoming presidential administration.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was elected in July and is set to take office on December 1, is expected to seriously consider ending cannabis prohibition as well as broader drug policy reforms, one of his key advisors has said.

“During the campaign, he talked about legalizing marijuana. That is an issue that is important to them. They think they are wasting a lot of law enforcement resources on marijuana,” Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), told the Rio Grande Guardian newspaper upon returning from the trip to Mexico. “We have 37 states in the United States where it is legal in one form or another. So, the tide seems to be moving in that direction and I think Mexico wants to address it on a federal level.”