Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto issued a decree this week, legalising medical cannabis across the country.

Cannabis has been illegal in Mexico since 1920, but decriminalised since 2009.

The case of Mexico is an excellent one for the worldwide anti-prohibition movement, as the Mexican President was once extremely opposed to drug legalisation.

However, his opinions clearly changed, and he told the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions in April 2016. “We must move beyond prohibition to effective prevention.”

Peña Nieto tried to pass a cannabis bill last year but was defeated in Congress.

Although this Medical Cannabis bill passed back in November, the decree was finally issued this week, bringing the law into effect.

The new law eliminates the criminalisation of the medicinal use of cannabis, THC, CBD, and all cannabis derivatives, as well as legalising the production and distribution of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic uses.

However, like any progress, it is fraught with challenges – currently only up to 1% THC is considered permitted and Mexico’s Ministry of Health will be required to study the medicinal and therapeutic effects of cannabis before creating the framework for a medical infrastructure.

We’ll be keeping an eye on Mexico for further developments!