The distinctive smell appears as soon as you step onto the first steps of one of the exits of the Hidalgo station of the Mexico City metro. Outside, the music and noise resemble any other moment at a music festival; however, it is just one of the places where marijuana is tolerated in downtown Mexico City.
Young and older people occupy planters, steps, or stand; all of them inhale and exhale with a singular pleasure, the one they derive from the recreational use of the drug.
Three young men, no older than 30, look to their sides, seemingly searching for something; they locate customers. “Three for 150,” one of them exclaims as soon as people approach. In his right hand, he displays three slender marijuana cigarettes: “Sativa, indica, or hybrid, whatever you want,” he assures.
Another of them takes a small bag containing a small marijuana bud from his pocket: “300 a gram, it’s greenhouse-grown,” the man in blue pants and red-rimmed eyes, a common sight around the area, justifies the price.
Similar images are replicated not far away, in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Avenida Juárez, at another cannabis tolerance center. These centers have become a space for consumers since the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) declared the recreational use of the stimulant constitutional in 2021 and urged Cofepris (National Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks) to issue authorizations, and, given the backlog in Congress, to pass the necessary legislation to clearly regulate the consumption, purchase, and sale of the drug in Mexico.
The process of obtaining a legal permit for marijuana use is not an easy path, as shown by official figures and testimonies from lawyers who have processed consumption permits before the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris).
According to data from the agency, between 2021—when the SCJN declared recreational use constitutional—and October 2024, it received 21,064 applications requesting the issuance of a marijuana use permit, of which 6,992 were granted, or three out of every 10.
Citizen interest has increased, according to official figures: between January and October of last year, 8,967 applications were filed, a 62.5% increase compared to the 5,516 submitted in the 12 months of 2023.
“I dare say that since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office, I think there may have been an internal change to tighten these authorizations,” says Emmanuel Castro, a lawyer with a degree from the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla who specializes in the procedures for obtaining marijuana. recreational consumption permits in the country.
Castro, who identifies himself as Abogado Verde 420 on social media, where he posts videos of himself traveling by plane to and from Mexico City and other parts of the country while carrying marijuana, states that the permits issued by Cofepris have had about seven versions so far.
Each of them, the jurist explains, has included new restrictions; the latest specifies that the permit holder may only smoke marijuana and carry 5 grams.
“There is a paragraph (in the new permits) regarding possession… that states that to be considered personal use, it must not exceed the (tolerated) amount established by the General Health Law, which is 5 grams. This is putting us in a dilemma because, currently, to be able to carry that amount, you don’t need a permit,” he comments.
Castro states that there have been cases within the country where people have been arrested with kilos of marijuana, arguing to authorities that it was for recreational use.
In recent years, marijuana seizures by the Armed Forces and police forces in the country have been declining, according to data from presidential reports. While 1,795 kilos of marijuana were seized in 2005, by 2022 the figure was only 71 kilos; for 2023, there is no data available, and between January and June 2024, only 32.7 kilos had been seized.
No Interest in Regulation
According to the Legislative Information System, 13 initiatives related to marijuana and its use have been presented in the Congress of the Union since July 2021 and until yesterday, March 24, 2025; Of these, four have been rejected, and nine are pending review: six in the Chamber of Deputies and three in the Senate.
Among the pending bills are reforms to the General Health Law to stipulate that criminal charges will not be levied against those who possess marijuana for personal use, rules for permits issued by Cofepris, and comprehensive laws for the recreational and industrial use of marijuana in Mexico.
Source: eleconomista
