THE WASH DAILY with Joey SLLiks CANNABIS NEWS REPORT Mexican Pres. López Obrador- "weed is freedom"
Friday November 27, 2020
In today’s report:
Mexico’s President Says Legal Marijuana Is About Freedom, As Legislation Advances In Congress
“The development of freedoms is very important,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday that a bill to legalize marijuana nationwide that was approved by the Senate last week is “part of carrying out a revolution of consciences, where each of us is responsible for his actions.”
The proposal, which was circulated in draft form earlier this month, would establish a regulated cannabis market in Mexico, allowing adults 18 and older to purchase and possess up to 28 grams of marijuana and cultivate up to six plants for personal use.
It “seeks to regulate the use of cannabis and its derivatives, under the approach of public health, human rights and sustainable development, to prevent and combat the consequences of the problematic use of psychoactive cannabis and to contribute to the reduction of the crime incidence linked to drug trafficking,” the Chamber’s Board of Directors said in an announcement about receiving the legislation, according to a translation.
After passing the Senate by a vote of 82 to 18, the bill was formally transmitted to the other body of the nation’s Congress, the Chamber of Deputies, this week, and has been referred to several committees there.
An additional change mandates that the government clear criminal records of people with past cannabis convictions within six months.
Another modification that advocates are not happy with says that nonprofit associations of consumers that collectively cultivate cannabis must be located at least 500 meters from schools, sports and recreation centers and anywhere that third parties who have not given their consent could be exposed to smoke.
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Marijuana Legalization Opponents Ask Courts To Overturn Voters’ Will In Several States
In three states, Mississippi, Montana and South Dakota there are lawsuits pending that seek to overturn voter-approved legalization initiatives. And in one state, cannabis opponents succeeded this year in preventing voters from even having a chance to decide on a reform measure.
NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a blog post that the opposition lawsuits are “cynical, and arguably frivolous, attempts to undermine the democratic process.”
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Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill Will Get A Congressional Vote Next Week, Leader Announces
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the chamber will take up the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act some time between Wednesday and Friday. The floor schedule
announcement
comes weeks after the leader first confirmed that the House would
advance the proposal before the year’s end
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Every Single Marijuana And Drug Policy Ballot Measure Passing On Election Day Bolsters Federal Reform Push
While the presidential and many congressional races are still being tallied, the reforms passed decisively, further demonstrating that Americans of all political ideologies are ready to abandon the country’s prohibitionist approach to drugs. With the addition of Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota as adult-use marijuana states, one-third of the country’s population will live in a state where cannabis is legal after the laws take effect.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday that these victories underscore the bipartisan public support for these issues and will further send a message to legislators to advance reform in the next Congress.
Answering a question during a Zoom call his office organized to discuss the ballot results, the congressman said the pro-legalization votes, particularly in conservative states, are “not warning signs for Republican politicians to stay away from the issue,” but rather “strong indications that they ought to embrace it.”
“This is what voters want. They’re not partisan issues, it’s an opportunity for Republicans to be able to make progress in their red states and bring people together at a time of division,” he said. “I think you’re going to watch people understand what just happened last night, and it is a continuation of progress that’s been going on since 1996. I think it’s going to be much easier [to pass reform] in the new Congress, with Republicans and Democrats, both in the House and Senate.”
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https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-marijuana-legalization-bill-will-get-a-congressional-vote-next-week-leader-announces/
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