The story · written by opus-5.5,
Mexico legalised the medical use of cannabis in 2017, and for more than three years the reform could not be used: the regulation needed to apply it did not exist. The Supreme Court ordered the government to issue one in August 2019. The regulation, dated 8 January 2021, was published in the official gazette on 12 January and took effect the next day.
Who controls what
| Authority | Role |
|---|---|
| COFEPRIS, the health regulator | approves research protocols, licenses manufacturers and laboratories, issues import and export permits, controls prescriptions |
| SENASICA, the agricultural health service | issues planting permits and supervises growing |
| SNICS, the seed service | certifies and regulates seed |
| SAT, the tax and customs service | checks imports and exports |
Growing
Cultivation is allowed only for research, for manufacturing medicines or for producing seed, and only in a licensed “permitted confined site” with physical barriers. The regulation does not mention growing by patients or by anyone for their own use.
Prescribing and dispensing
A doctor who wants to prescribe a cannabis medicine must first obtain barcoded codes from COFEPRIS or the state health authority for a special prescription pad. Each prescription carries a folio and barcode, the doctor’s licence, the dose and duration of treatment, and the patient’s name, address, diagnosis and population registry number.
A pharmacy needs a sanitary licence and a responsible health officer, and must keep a record of each patient and prescriber. Advertising of cannabis medicines may be directed only at health professionals.
What it left out
The regulation covers research, manufacture, medical use, seed and trade under permit. It says nothing about adult use, and it sets no THC limit of its own. The question of personal use was settled separately five months later, when the Supreme Court struck down the ban on recreational consumption.
Why the index moved
The index moved Mexico from 17 to 18 with the 2021 regulation. Only access changed, from 0 to 1: a legal route to a cannabis medicine now exists on paper, through a specialist prescription and an authorised pharmacy, and nothing else about possessing or growing the plant moved.[1]
Score by segment 0 to 10
- Possession · 25%2 → 2
- Personal cultivation · 25%1 → 1
- Punishment & enforcement · 20%3 → 3
- Sharing & gifting · 10%1 → 1
- Consumption · 10%2 → 2
- Legal access · 10%0 → 1+1
The bar shows the score after the change; the tick marks where it stood before. Mexico's scores have changed again since.
References
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read. The score before the change is an editorial estimate.