Marijuana use – in all its forms – was banned in the United States and many other countries for decades. Governments resolutely refused to recognize its myriad health benefits, and for many years anyone pushing for the legalization of marijuana was viewed as promoting drug abuse.
In recent years, however, after hard work by the independent media and medical marijuana advocates, more and more people have started to realize the massive health benefits of marijuana – benefits which have been withheld from them unnecessarily for decades.
One state after the other has legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes in the past couple of years, and as a result, a large number of legal cannabis farms have started to spring up across the country.
But now, these farmers’ livelihoods could be at stake, as Mexico has announced plans to legalize adult marijuana use by the end of this month. Experts warn that this could result in a flood of legal weed entering the U.S., causing local prices to plummet and putting American marijuana farmers out of business. (Related: Move aside tobacco, Kentucky farmers are making the switch to hemp.)
Medical marijuana has quickly become big business
The growth and distribution of cannabis has boomed so quickly in the United States that annual sales are predicted to reach $23.4 billion by 2022. (Related: Instead of paying farmers subsidies to grow unprofitable crops, wouldn’t it make more sense to legalize hemp agriculture and unleash billions in profit potential?)
This is good news for those who fought long and hard to have legal access to the amazing health benefits of marijuana. It is also good news for those who have spent large sums of money establishing farms to grow this precious commodity.
But if Americans can access marijuana more cheaply from across the border it is likely that they will jump at the opportunity to do so. With this in mind, many local farmers are very concerned about Mexico’s plans to legalize marijuana growth and distribution in the next few weeks.
Mexico’s proposed new legislation
As reported by Marijuana Moment, the Senate Leader of Mexico’s MORENA party, Senator Ricardo Monreal, has announced that a reform bill legalizing marijuana use by adults will likely be approved by the end of October.
Marijuana Moment reported:
That would mean that lawmakers are expecting to meet a Supreme Court deadline to end federal cannabis prohibition. Last year, the court ruled that the country’s ban on personal possession, use and cultivation of marijuana was unconstitutional and said the government must formally legalize those activities by October. Many key lawmakers have said the country should go even further by legally regulating cannabis sales and production as well.
The Senate held a series of events in recent weeks meant to solicit public input on legalization proposals and hear from experts on the issue in order to inform their bill. During one panel, a former White House drug czar spoke about the need for “robust regulations” in a legal cannabis market.
While some government officials have pushed for government control of the marijuana market to prevent large companies from monopolizing the industry, others have expressed opposition to such state control.
Irrespective of how the new law is implemented, however, a large amount of cannabis being legally produced across the border is likely to start making its way stateside within a short period of time.
And that could mean big problems for local farmers.
Learn more about the health benefits of marijuana at CBDs.news.
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