Mexican attitudes to marijuana mellow

Drug liberalisation north of the border may speed up the process
The Economist (UK)
Saturday, December 24, 2016

mexico legalizacion marihuanaIn november 57% of Californians voted to legalise the growing and use of marijuana for recreational purposes. Liberalisation in the most populous border state will be felt acutely down south. Mexico has just marked the tenth anniversary of a war on drugs. It has spent millions of dollars on eradicating cannabis. Now it will abut a huge regulated market for the stuff – and one where 30% of the population is Mexican or Mexican-American. Changes in the United States may be prompting a rethink in Mexico, too – among ordinary people, policymakers and purveyors of pot alike. Nearly a third of voters in Mexico currently support legalising marijuana for recreational use. Attitudes are mellowing: in 2008 only 7% approved of legal pot.