The Cannavist USA Issue 1 | Page 79

1920 1927 1970 s 2009 Mexico’s Department of Public Sanitation declares new legislation, titled: “Dispositions on the Cultivation and Commerce of Products that Degenerate the Race.” This bans the sale, production and recreational use of cannabis. As US states begin to criminalize the plant, Mexico bans stock from being exported over the border. 1930 s The US government sponsors a scheme to spray herbicides paraquat and 2,4-D over cannabis fi elds in Mexico using helicopters. Herbicide poisoning cases begin to crop up in the US after the tainted plants are smuggled over the border. President Felipe Calderón decriminalizes small amounts of cannabis and cocaine for possession, in an attempt for law enforcement to focus on traffi ckers and cartel bosses instead of recreational users. Drug cartels begin to organise in Mexico to smuggle alcohol into the US during prohibition, eventually expanding to cannabis and other illegal drugs using increasingly violent means. The deadline to legalize cannabis is set for October 23. The fi nal draft of the bill is unveiled on October 18. The Mexican Supreme Court makes it legal for four members of SMART (Society for Responsible and Tolerant Personal Use) to grow and consume their own cannabis. President Enrique Peña Nieto legalizes cannabis with under 1% THC for medical use. The Supreme Court ends the cannabis prohibition and moves to formally legalize cannabis in the near future. It hopes legalization will improve the country’s economy and put a dent in the narco traffi cking. The vote has since been delayed after missing the deadline. Whether or not Mexican authorities decide to fulfi l the draft legislation as law remains to be seen. An announcement is expected early the following year. 2015 2017 2018 2019 79