Coronavirus may delay Mexico vote on hemp, marijuana legalization

Mexico’s vote to legalize hemp and marijuana will likely be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, one attorney following the proceedings said.

The delay has not been announced, but it’s expected to happen any moment, said Luis Armendáriz, an attorney in Chihuahua, Mexico, who is affiliated with Denver’s Hoban Law Group.

“My realistic expectation is that they only delay it for a month or two,” he said.

Mexico’s Congress has an April 30 deadline, issued by the country’s Supreme Court, to legalize all forms of cannabis. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in 2018 said it was unconstitutional to ban the use of cannabis for personal use.

Whenever the legislation is passed, it could still take years for Mexico to set up regulations for how hemp and marijuana business can grow and sell cannabis products.