Latin America's Uruguay and Mexican Capital Stir the Marijuana Pot Emilio Godoy and Ines Acosta - Inter Press Service
go to original September 27, 2013

MEXICO CITY/MONTEVIDEO - In Latin America, where marijuana is the most widely consumed illegal drug, there is basically no home-grown research into its effects and properties. But possible legalization in Uruguay and the Mexican capital could open the door to new studies.

“We can’t close our eyes to serious research in other parts of the world,” Rodolfo Rodríguez, a scientific researcher at the department of pharmacology in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) medical school, told IPS.

Rodríguez, who has been studying different psychotropic substances for 45 years, is one of six experts making up the Marijuana and Health Group at the National Academy of Medicine who are completing a theoretical study on the medicinal and therapeutic effects of Cannabis sativa.

One of Rodríguez’s interests is to learn about the drug’s effects in patients with chronic or terminal diseases, such as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, or certain kinds of cancer.

The results of their work, set to come out in October or November, will inform the debate that Mexico City authorities are holding with a view to legalizing the medical use of marijuana.

The left-wing city government of Miguel Mancera and the Mexico City legislative assembly are assessing the health, economic and security aspects of legalization.

Read the rest at Inter Press Service

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