Vicente Fox Calls on Mexico Lawmakers to Finalize Cannabis Regulation Peter Davies - Mexico News Daily
go to original September 28, 2022

“Nobody has died from consuming marijuana anywhere in the world,” Fox said in a recent interview. (Vicente Fox/Instagram)

Former president and marijuana entrepreneur Vicente Fox has urged lawmakers and authorities to legalize and regulate the recreational use of cannabis, asserting that doing so will reduce cartels’ income and create economic opportunities for ordinary Mexicans.

The Supreme Court (SCJN) has ruled that the prohibition of marijuana is unconstitutional and directed Congress to legalize its recreational use, but a bill to that end still hasn’t passed the Senate 1 1/2 years after it was approved by the Chamber of Deputies.

Fox – part owner of a chain of stores that sells products such as CBD (cannabidiol) oil, hemp oil, bongs, pipes, marijuana grinders and papers – said in a recent interview with the El Economista newspaper that he doesn’t understand why legalization and regulation haven’t happened.

“Legalizing and regulating this industry will take a lot of revenue away from cartels” and put it in the hands of marijuana growers and businesspeople, he said.



"Open your franchise," trumpet billboards for former president Vicente Fox's Paradise stores for marijuana-derived products. He is a co-owner, but the very public face of the chain. (Vicente Fox/Instagram)

“In that way we can convert an illegal industry into an authorized industry, an industry that generates opportunities for Mexicans,” said Fox, president from 2000 to 2006 and a seasoned marijuana advocate.

“I started in this 20 years ago,” he told El Economista, referring to his advocacy for marijuana legalization.

“Sometimes people ask why [former] president Fox is involved in this, if he is a druggie or pothead – a lot of people make jokes,” Fox said. “I’m involved in this because I’m totally convinced that legalizing marijuana is [the way] to pull the rug out from under the cartels.”

The 80-year-old ex-president called on authorities to put regulations in place for the production, processing and recreational use of marijuana, which has effectively been decriminalized by the SCJN and is smoked openly in some parts of the country, including Mexico City and Oaxaca city.

Read the rest at Mexico News Daily

Related: Marijuana’s Last Taboo: Parents Who Get Stoned (Washington Post)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!