Senate must legislate cannabis, since every day is consumed more, warns Cordero
The Secretary of the Interior, Olga Sanchez Cordero, urged the Senate to legislate on the regulation of marijuana, as it warned that day by day there is an increase in their consumption and from earlier ages
In turn, the Secretary of Health, Jorge Alcocer Varela, said that in the country the biggest challenge facing the development of any regulatory model is to balance the public health approach with commercial interests.
Both secretaries participated in the Forum towards a Regulation Policy for Cannabis, organized by the Senate.
Sánchez Cordero pointed out that the regulation of cannabis does not mean decriminalizing or legalizing, but rather reform the use and consumption of drugs, such as marijuana.
The Governor said that the prohibitionist policy that has been followed in recent years in Mexico has increased violence and criminalized a sector of the population that consumes it.
“This strategy has failed to protect the health, safety and respect of the human rights of consumers. Far from inhibiting the problem, there has been an increase in criminal organizations derived from the increase in international and national cannabis consumption, “he said.
He commented that in the regulation of marijuana the greatest challenge is to balance the public health approach, with the interests derived from its commercialization.
“The increase in the use of cannabis forces us to revise a different approach, because the objective can not be to eradicate the consumption of a substance with such prevalence in society. The issue of cannabis [should be addressed] from the perspective of public health, which establishes the right to self-determination and consumer welfare, “he noted
Jorge Alcocer Varela agreed that the biggest challenge in any regulatory model is to balance public health with commercial interests, because, according to the medical vision, you must know the effect it has, like any drug or substance that needs to be assessed in individual form.
Alcocer Varela argued that the regulation model must be in accordance with the Mexican reality, in which the protection of the health of the people against a psychoactive product is considered, respect the autonomy of the people, promote the information
“In the same way [it is necessary] to protect children and young people from risk, to establish the sale of cannabis as a socially responsible service and to facilitate rehabilitation and treatment programs for those who request it.
“The only fatal association linked to the use of cannabis is related to car accidents, so its regulation could be in this section,” he said.
The coordinator of Morena in the Senate, Ricardo Monreal, said that the regulation of marijuana involves reviewing its production, distribution, marketing and consumption, as it is currently done with legal drugs or any other merchandise: “The purpose is that the product meets quality controls, which does not harm the ecology or health. ”
Source: El Universal
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