{"id":3087,"date":"2021-12-16T23:33:20","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T23:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=187939"},"modified":"2021-12-16T23:33:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T23:33:20","slug":"marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=3087","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana in Mexico: What it\u2019s like to be a cannabis consumer right now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Marijuana in Mexico: What it&#8217;s like to be a cannabis consumer right now &#8211; Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.5 (Yoast SEO v17.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>                <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>MEXICO CITY \u2013 \u201cI\u2019ve got the best job in the world,\u201d says Alejandra* as she rolls joint after joint at a cannabis dispensary in Mexico City. Plumes of smoke fill the air. A steady stream of customers come and go. Some purchase her pre-rolls, but most buy large amounts of about a dozen different strains of flower.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This is how weed is sold now in Mexico, as the country\u2019s marijuana laws float in a strange legal limbo. Cannabis is not yet fully legal, but it\u2019s not strictly illegal either. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>Inside a Mexico City dispensary, you might (mistakenly) believe cannabis is already legal. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Alejandra\u2019s dispensary keeps a low profile. There is no advertising outside the store. Some of the inventory is kept jarred inside suitcases in case of a raid. But from the scene indoors, you might believe cannabis is legal in Mexico, as many people\u2014even locals\u2014often mistakenly do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mexican lawmakers continue to&nbsp;contemplate legalizing and opening one of the world\u2019s largest cannabis industries, but an impressive gray market is already developing\u2014and quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople are demanding cannabis products, so we want to make sure we do things right, with or without the approval of the government,\u201d Lorena Beltr\u00e1n, from the Latin American Cannabis Alliance, recently told Leafly. <\/p>\n<div class=\"my-xxl wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-related-articles\">\n<p><h2>Marijuana in Mexico: A special series<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-real-companies-forming-ready-for-legalization\">Real companies forming, ready for legalization<\/h2>\n<p>The Latin American Cannabis Alliance last month hosted an international cannabis investment summit in Cancun, one of a handful of conferences that have already taken place in Mexico. \u201cWe have over 14 cannabis nonprofits and almost 60 private companies under one umbrella. The industry is expanding and it\u2019s not going anywhere,\u201d said Beltr\u00e1n.<\/p>\n<p>While demand is being served domestically <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/es\/article\/a3q9e8\/esta-es-la-primera-cajetilla-mexicana-con-cigarros-de-marihuana\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to a certain extent<\/a>, many cannabis products are being smuggled in from the US for both medical and recreational purposes. \u201cThe Mexican FDA is not doing anything about it,\u201d Beltr\u00e1n says. \u201cThe government needs to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/es\/article\/439nzp\/la-secretaria-de-economia-solicita-a-cofepris-cancelar-la-importacion-de-productos-cannabicos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">try<\/a> and catch up with the growing unregulated industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"photo-of-legalization-advocates-in-mexico-city-in-2021\" class=\"wp-image-188690 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Young people gather outside the Senate of the Republic to smoke marijuana during the \u201cFumaton 420,\u201d a demonstration calling for the legalization of marijuana, outside the Senate of the Republic in Mexico City, on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. (AP Photo\/Marco Ugarte)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A growing movement of consumers are smoking weed in public, while others increasingly grow it at home&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Emboldened by the judgments of Mexico\u2019s Supreme Court\u2014which has struck down the prohibition of cannabis a number of times since 2015\u2014many marijuana businesses are already expanding. They\u2019re getting ready for a fully-legal market that could open as early as the autumn of 2022. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-weed-available-in-dispensaries-cafes-restaurants-and-spas\">Weed available in dispensaries, cafes, restaurants and spas<\/h2>\n<p>To be clear, cannabis sales are not yet officially legal. But that hasn\u2019t stopped the rapid growth of gray market transactions across the country. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>Business owners often have lawyers on call, ready to fight if they get hassled for selling cannabis.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Today you\u2019ll find cannabis available in a number of underground dispensaries,&nbsp;cafes, and restaurants; and even day spas and massage studios. Those business owners often have attorneys on call, ready to fight&nbsp;if they face the wrath of law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>The movement has been growing for some time. Mexico\u2019s first Cannabis Cup was held in Guadalajara three years ago, followed by the Northern Cannabis Cup near Monterrey <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/es\/article\/zmpew9\/la-copa-cannabica-del-norte-llega-a-monterrey-para-celebrar-el-cuatro-veinte\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in 2019<\/a>. In the past few years, cannabis festivals named <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/es\/article\/gy4x4b\/cannafest-una-ola-de-activismo-marihuano-se-apodera-de-guadalajara\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cannafest<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/es\/article\/pp5mm8\/expoweed-mexico-tres-dais-de-informacion-y-cultura-cannabica\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Expoweed<\/a> have taken place in Mexico\u2019s two largest cities. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-home-growers-are-prospering\">Home growers are prospering<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe market is being democratized,\u201d says Jorge Hern\u00e1ndez Tinajero, the president of the Mexican Association of Cannabis Studies, a grow shop owner and a longtime legalization advocate. \u201cMore and more people are starting to grow and they are realizing that having ten plants yields a lot of weed\u2014so they start to sell a little bit. There is less risk of big fishes eating the others with more growers in the market, and so criminal structures are becoming less influential.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Accurate estimates on the number of people consuming and growing cannabis in Mexico are difficult to obtain (one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vallartadaily.com\/businesses-prepare-for-the-imminent-legalization-of-marijuana-in-mexico-this-month\/?amp=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">puts<\/a> the number of consumers at 500,000) but a legal industry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globenewswire.com\/news-release\/2021\/11\/17\/2336579\/0\/en\/New-Estimates-Project-Mexico-s-Legal-Cannabis-Sales-to-Reach-USD-2-1-Billion-Within-Four-Years-of-Retail-Market-Launch.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">could<\/a> be worth more than US$2 billion a year. Businesses are already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com.mx\/foro-forbes-industria-de-cannabis-exige-facilidades-para-bancarizarse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">calling for<\/a> the government to allow legal access to banking services, which has been a particularly difficult issue for cannabis companies in the United States. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-good-country-for-farmers\">Good country for farmers<\/h2>\n<p>Government officials estimate that roughly 114,000 hectares (282,000 acres) of land are under illegal cannabis cultivation in Mexico. Those crops are grown mostly in the northern states of Sinaloa, Chihuahua, and Sonora, with additional harvest coming from Oaxaca in the south.<\/p>\n<p>UN and US Drug Enforcement Administration data suggests Mexico may be the world\u2019s second-largest cannabis producer\u2014cultivating up to 27,000 tons a year. One report found that 80% of the country\u2019s land would be suitable for growing cannabis.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-possession-limits-remain-tight\">Possession limits remain tight<\/h2>\n<p>For now, the risk of criminal penalties remain in place for possessing more than 5 grams of cannabis. Selling any amount of cannabis remains against the law. Police are still arresting people for those offenses, despite the Supreme Court rulings.<\/p>\n<p>Those rulings, which began in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/nov\/04\/mexico-supreme-court-recreational-marijuana-legal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2015<\/a>, declared the prohibition of personal cannabis consumption to be unconstitutional. The court stipulated that the state must grant permits to adults seeking to grow and smoke. Lawmakers have since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/heres-why-marijuana-still-isnt-legal-in-mexico-but-could-be-soon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">failed to pass a legalization bill<\/a> that would codify the Court\u2019s ruling. There remains a gulf between the desires of the court and local reality after all the early possess-and-consume applications <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/mundo\/noticias-america-latina-57661464\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">were denied<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-cops-targeting-the-young-and-poor\">Cops targeting the young and poor<\/h2>\n<p>Police are still arresting people for cannabis, and anecdotal evidence suggests those who are young and poor are far more likely to be targeted.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center\">\n<p>\u201cIn reality, no matter what quantity you have you are in danger of being detained by the police.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 <em>Frida Ibarra, Mexico United Against Crime<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIn some more socio-economically privileged zones of the country, the police do not have a huge presence and do not seek to arrest people of certain standing and ethnicity,\u201d says Frida Ibarra, a lawyer for NGO Mexico United Against Crime. \u201cIf you have more than five grams of cannabis you can be punished for it according to the law. But in reality, no matter what quantity you have you are in danger of being detained by the police.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, the last year for which there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inegi.org.mx\/contenidos\/saladeprensa\/aproposito\/2020\/LUCHAVSDROGAS20.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">public data<\/a>, 11,000 people in Mexico were charged with possession of less than 100 grams of cannabis. That number included 2,300 adolescents, with many thousands more undoubtedly apprehended by police and forced to pay bribes, even for possession of very small amounts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are hundreds, or even thousands, of innocent people in jail who shouldn\u2019t be there that I hope we can liberate with this new regulation,\u201d says Sen. Alvarez Icaza, an independent Senator who has campaigned strongly on the issue. \u201cWe are in the 21st century and need to seize the day to swiftly create a rights-based approach to cannabis use which is not dominated by the market nor defined by inequality.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"photo-of-a-speaker-at-a-2016-cannabis-expo-in-mexico\" class=\"wp-image-188687 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>A speaker talks to an audience about the innovative use of cannabis to create fiber products, during the first day of the 2016 marijuana fair ExpoWeed in Mexico City. (AP Photo\/Moises Castillo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Icaza claimed that it is \u201cvery common\u201d for police to plant extra cannabis on people so they exceed the limit. \u201cOfficers use cannabis against young and poor people to get illegal money,\u201d Icaza said.<\/p>\n<p>Matias*, a 22-year-old student, was apprehended by police in Queretaro this month and forced to pay a bribe even though he had far less than 5 grams in his possession. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t even started smoking,\u201d he recalled. \u201cWe were just sitting enjoying the view.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe police came with their flashlights just to get money out of people,\u201d Matias said. \u201cThey went through our pockets and found a little bag of weed with enough for one joint. They said, \u2018We\u2019re going to take you to the station\u2019 and even got out their handcuffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor about 20 minutes they were aggressively threatening us. But as we protested, one officer finally said, \u2018Well, you tell me what to do? Because I don\u2019t want to take you to the station.\u2019 They took out my wallet and I said, \u2018This is all I have, take it.\u2019 They let us go and let us keep the weed for my MX$350.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-medical-patients-hassles-outside-dispensaries\">Medical patients hassles outside dispensaries<\/h2>\n<p>Elsewhere, in an affluent barrio of Mexico City last year, 30-year-old Rodrigo* was apprehended outside a cannabis club last year. Police searched him and found 70 grams of cannabis that he was taking home to make into a medical oil.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn aggressive police officer approached my window,\u201d he said. \u201cHe asked me to get out of the car. I refused and asked if he had a reason. He contemptuously said that I had the physical appearance of a criminal and made me get out of the car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rodrigo told the police he used medical cannabis as an antiretroviral to treat his HIV. As an activist he is part of a group whose members, he told Leafly, \u201cdedicate ourselves to defending the human rights of cannabis users.\u201d Police sought to press charges against him. \u201cThey took me to a prosecutor\u2019s office and I waited there for hours in an office with a number of others in the same position,\u201d he recalled.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The incident ended when, Rodrido said, the prosecutor told the police they do not prosecute drug offenses. \u201cThey ordered them to drop the charges, because I am a cannabis user, not a hijacker,\u201d he says. \u201cBut unfortunately the policemen who violated my human rights went unpunished and took my marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>*Names have been changed to protect the persons involved from potential criminal prosecution. <\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now.jpg\" alt=\"Mattha Busby's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Mattha Busby<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Mattha Busby is a freelance writer based in Mexico. His work has appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, Vice, GQ, and other publications.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/mattha-busby\">View Mattha Busby&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-12-16 23:37:48 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marijuana in Mexico: What it&#8217;s like to be a cannabis consumer right now &#8211; Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. MEXICO CITY \u2013 \u201cI\u2019ve got the best job in the world,\u201d says Alejandra* as she rolls joint after joint at a cannabis dispensary in Mexico City. Plumes of smoke fill the air. A&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/marijuana-in-mexico-what-its-like-to-be-a-cannabis-consumer-right-now.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}