The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) approved a project on simple possession of cannabis, which determines that a collegiate court will have to decide whether an accused person possessed marijuana only for personal use or not. The association Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD) regretted the decision, which does not generate a mandatory precedent for other cases or declare the unconstitutionality of the crime.
The project, presented in the First Chamber of the SCJN by Minister Juan Luis González Alcántara, was approved by three votes: his own, that of Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena and that of Margarita Ríos Farjat. In it, the elimination of the criterion of the maximum amount of five grams of cannabis to be considered for personal use is established, a determination that will only apply to the case discussed.
MUCD, a pioneering association in the promotion of initiatives to decriminalize the use of drugs, and defender of Edgar “N”, a complainer who filed the amparo lawsuit, regretted the Court’s resolution and said: “It is contradictory that despite the fact that the project has all the arguments to end this crime, it chooses to perpetuate the criminalization of consumers.”
From @MUCD, we regret that the @SCJN has approved this project. It is contradictory that despite the fact that the bill has all the arguments to end this crime, the Court chooses to perpetuate the criminalization of consumers.
— United Mexico (@MUCD) May 11, 2022
Prior to the discussion of the matter, MUCD warned that the project was “inadequate” and fell short because it did not eliminate the crime of simple possession of cannabis, which will allow consumers to continue to be criminalized, although the right to decide on its use is already recognized by the Court itself.
The project of Minister González Alcántara arose from the case of Edgar, who in 2018 was arrested in Mexico City when he was riding a skateboard through the streets of the Iztapalapa mayor’s office, because he was carrying 30.6 grams of marijuana. He was presented to the Public Ministry and linked to trial for the crime of simple possession of cannabis, despite the fact that he said that the substance was for personal consumption.
After the arrest, MUCD assumed the defense of Edgar and filed an amparo with which he claimed the unconstitutionality of the crime for “contravening the democratic principles of criminal law and being a disproportionate measure to the good it intends to protect, which is public health.”
Despite this, Edgar was linked to proceedings for crimes against health and is currently on his trial at large.
His amparo reached the SCJN since 2020, but it was until October 2021 when Minister González Alcántara presented a first version of the draft sentence, in which he did not modify anything with respect to the current legislation. Faced with the demand of organizations, the proposal was withdrawn.
Six months later, the matter was relisted for consideration by the First Chamber, with the proposal already approved. Again, the Court refrained from declaring the crime unconstitutional.
Given this decision, MUCD announced that it will continue to seek the decriminalization of drugs and with its work in the protection of the rights of consumers and citizens.
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