Pubdate: Wed, 20 Apr 2016
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
Copyright: 2016 PG Publishing Co., Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/pm4R4dI4
Website: http://www.post-gazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/341
Authors: Nacha Cattan and Eric Martin, Bloomberg News

MEXICO'S PRESIDENT INTENDS TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

MEXICO CITY - President Enrique Pena Nieto said Mexico will move to 
legalize marijuana for medicinal use in what was seen as a stark 
shift for a leader who has made clamping down on all forms of drug 
trafficking a hallmark of his tenure.

Speaking to the United Nations, Mr. Pena Nieto said Tuesday he would 
also raise the amount of marijuana that would be de-criminalized for 
personal consumption, calling its use a public health problem and 
urging policies that avoid punishing users.

His participation in a special U.N. General Assembly session on drugs 
came after months of public pressure for legalization following the 
Supreme Court's November decision to give four people permission to 
grow cannabis at home.

"I give voice to those who have expressed the need to update the 
regulatory framework to authorize the use of marijuana for medical 
and scientific ends," Mr. Pena Nieto said at the session on the 
global drug problem.

The nation's drug war has left more than 150,000 people dead and 
26,000 missing since 2006, according to an October U.N. report.

The shift comes as two dozen states in the U.S. have legalized some 
form of medical marijuana use, while cannabis is legal for 
recreational use in Washington and Colorado.
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