Though shortages in supply have already been reported in Canada following the legalisation of cannabis, further steps down south appear to suggest that a laxer approach towards use of the plant is being taken in Mexico.
Full legalisation is not on the cards just yet, however, at the end of last year the country’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of two cases of recreational marijuana use.
Now at the end of January 2019, Mexican citizens will also have access to edible gummies containing a cannabis sativa which helps to relax the user.
The product, created by CBD Life, will be shipped from the United States and marketed at a 75% lower price than north of the border, whilst also being legally sold in the country.
The move comes off the back of increased leniency in the use of CBD which was decided by the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS), allowing importation and use of products with a THC level of 1% or less.
As a result of such regulations, up to ten companies have received permission to work and sell products containing CBD and will be available on ecommerce platforms such as Farmacias San Pablo, del Ahorro, Yza, Guadalajara, Nutrisa and the Amazon e-commerce store.
CBD Life uses Cannabidiol (CBD) in products aimed at medicinal use. The gummies in particular appear to reduce inflammation, pain, anxiety, insomnia, and stress according to their website, and can also help relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis and epileptic seizures.
Operations director of CBD Life, Janko Ruíz de Chávez, was also recent quoted in El Financiero explaining that the gummies allow for education into benefits of CBD safety.
“They are a very pleasant way of knowing the ingredient, it is oriented to minor ills such as relaxation, anxiety, stress, pain, depression. All those imbalances of the nervous system, and that helps us regulate it through the endocannabinoid system.’’
It was actually back in July 2018 when incoming Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero spoke at a narcotics-related violence seminar, revealing that she had been asked to look into the implications of Mexican drugs legislation overhaul. This was the first signal that AMLO’s policies towards marijuana might be somewhat different to his predecessors’, however, this appears to be just one of a number of steps that the president-elect is considering in a bid to reduce crime levels in his country.
Although the CBD gummies do not signal a total overhaul of Mexico’s marijuana approach, increased lenience for providers of cannabis-related products could pave the way for further assessment in the future. Should Mexico eventually join the likes of Canada and Uruguay in the legalisation of cannabis, it would place heightened pressure on the third member of the newly-negotiated NAFTA deal, especially as the United States sits between the two potential pot using countries.
