International cannabis reform continues to spread like a brushfire, with two major countries on separate continents looking at legalization this week.
In Mexico, the government is poised to legalize the sale of marijuana-based medicines, foods, drinks, and various other forms of cannabis in the new year. On Wednesday, Mexico’s health regulation body, Cofepris, stated the agency plans to publish regulations for pot-infused products very early in 2018.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Mexico since June but the prohibition against cultivation and recreational use has remained. Copefris expects cannabis products to be imported at first, with domestic cultivation and manufacturing expected to follow.
In Portugal, a bipartisan coalition of the Left Bloc and Communist Party is preparing a bill to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes. Portugal decriminalized all drug use at the turn of the century, however, legalization of cannabis has been an ongoing effort since 2013.
Two attempts to legalize pot since that time had been thwarted by the previous right-wing government, but this coalition between left-wing parties appears to have the momentum to make legal cannabis a reality in the European nation.
The bipartisan coalition is reportedly preparing legislation to be tabled at the beginning of 2018.
credit:marijuana.com