Mexico judge approves recreational cocaine for two users

• Posted on August 21, 2019
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

A Mexican judge has granted two people the right to recreational cocaine use, in the first ruling of its kind, the organisation behind the cases said.

The court said it would allow the claimants to “possess, transport and use cocaine” but not sell it, according to Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD).

MUCD, which seeks to end the country’s “war on drugs”, called the ruling a “historic step”.

The decision must be reviewed by a higher court before it is enforced.

MUCD said the Mexico City court ordered the country’s health authority, Cofepris, to authorise the two claimants’ use of cocaine.

A Cofepris official told the AFP news agency that it had taken steps to block the court order, which was handed down in May. The official said that such authorisation would be outside of its legal remit.

The ruling will only come into effect if a panel of judges side with the original decision. If they do approve the ruling, it will only apply to the two people who brought the cases, whose identities were withheld.

In a statement on Tuesday,  MUCD said the cases represent “another step in the fight to construct alternative drug policies that allow [Mexico] to redirect its security efforts and better address public health.”

Mexico has long struggled with violent conflict from drug cartels, with thousands of drug-related killings reported in the country every year.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a left-wing politician who took office in December, has promised “radical” changes in the country’s approach to tackling drugs. 

-BBC