Marijuana Legalization Spreads Around the World, How Will the U.S. React if Mexico Legalizes Weed

By Selena Hill

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 1: Tyler Williams of Blanchester, Ohio selects marijuana strains to purchase at the 3-D Denver Discrete Dispensary on January 1, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. Legalization of recreational marijuana sales in the state went into effect at 8am this morning. (Photo by Theo Stroomer/Getty Images) (Photo : Theo Stroomer/Getty Images)

Within recent years, support for legalizing marijuana has gained massive support in the U.S. and around the globe.
Twenty-three states, in addition to the District of Columbia, have passed laws permitting medical marijuana use, while four states now allow adults to use marijuana for recreational purposes, reports The New York Times.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promises to overturn a national law banning recreational use of the drug. Plus, the Mexican Supreme Court recently opened the door to legalizing the drug in a ruling that permits four plaintiffs to grow cannabis for personal use, The Los Angeles Times reports.

Although the Mexican Supreme Court's ruling only applies to the plaintiffs in the case, the decision may eventually extend to all those seeking to grow and/or use the drug. President Enrique Peña Nieto and the Mexican Congress may also feel pressured to change the law due to the ruling.

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It would also become harder to enforce prohibition laws in Mexico and in the U.S. if California voters legalize recreational use of marijuana, which could happen if activists are able to put legalization initiatives on the 2016 ballot. Because a lot of illegal Mexican cannabis is transported to California, it would make little sense for Mexico to spend millions of dollars in drug enforcement to ban a substance that is being shipped to a place where it is legal to use.
 
However, anti-marijuana officials in Washington, DC may very well pressure Mexico to uphold a strict interpretation of the United Nations conventions which has barred marijuana. "It can also pressure Mexico to keep intercepting marijuana shipments to the U.S., uprooting marijuana plantations, searching for tunnels across the border and jailing people for drug offenses," reports the L.A. Times.

Or, there is also the possibility that President Obama could encourage Peña Nieto not to interfere with the court decision. Then, both governments could actually work together to stop the war on drugs, which has cost the U.S. billions and done little to curb drug use in America. In turn, that could lead to the creation of more sensible drug policies.