Jan 21 A bill to allow medical marijuana should be approved by Mexico's Congress by May, thanks to cross-party support and a series of public debates on cannabis that should win over lawmakers, the ruling party senator who proposed the measure said.
The bill, proposed by Institutional Revolutionary Party Senator Cristina Diaz, aims to change Mexican laws to allow the import of medical marijuana products to help the roughly 5,000 medical patients currently without access to such drugs.
Diaz proposed the measure just days after a November Supreme Court decision that opened the door for an eventual legalization of recreational marijuana in a country ravaged by drug violence.
Polls show a majority of Mexicans oppose outright legalization, as do Diaz and President Enrique Pena Nieto. Still, Pena Nieto has called for a national debate on the matter, which begins this month. Other lawmakers say there is broad support for new medical marijuana regulation.
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