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Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto clarified Wednesday that a recent ruling by the country's Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of marijuana cultivation does not mean that the recreational drug has been legalized.
"It is clear that the results of this decision are for those who have invoked the protection of justice for consumption of marijuana for personal use and recreational use of the same, but does not … mean the legalization of the use of marijuana,” President Peña Nieto said in a press conference.
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Mexico's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that recreational use of marijuana is constitutional in a case brought forward by an advocacy group that was denied permission by regulators to grow and cultivate marijuana plants for recreational use.
The Supreme Court stated that its ruling only applied to those who brought the case forward. Furthermore, they specified that it had not legalized marijuana but Peña Nieto felt it necessary to reiterate the point, though he did concede that the ruling would prompt a debate about the country's drug laws.
"I myself have spoken on the subject, I have advocated the need to open-up a broad debate on this issue, on public policies that have been followed and even more so when we see that in various parts of the world legalized consumption has eventually happened and in Mexico it is an activity that is still penalized and criminalized," said Peña Nieto.
Public opinion in Mexico is opposed to the legalization of recreational use of marijuana but the country's ongoing conflict with organized crime, which derives much of its income from drug smuggling, has led some to question the efficacy of the country's current laws.
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Former President Vicente Fox has come out publicly in support of the legalization of drugs in order to stem the power of organized crime.
The possession of small amounts of recreational drugs was decriminalized in 2009.
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