MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled a ban on recreational marijuana use is unconstitutional.

Reuters reports the nation’s highest court found in favor of a pair of legal challenges filed against the prohibition against marijuana use and states the ruling effectively leaves it up to lawmakers to regulate use of the substance.

The two decisions make five similar rulings on the matter, which sets a precedent lower Mexican courts must adhere to.

Visit Reuters for more on this story. </s> MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court has issued two more rulings in individual cases establishing a precedent that a blanket prohibition on recreational marijuana use is unconstitutional.

The court finds that adults may decide their personal activities without interference from the state. It adds that the right is not absolute and the government may regulate use of controlled substances, but “the effects provoked by marijuana do not justify an absolute prohibition of its consumption.”

The court ordered the federal government to authorize the complainants in the cases to consume marijuana, though not that they be allowed to commercialize it or use other drugs.

Wednesday’s decisions add to three similar ones between 2015 and 2017. Since there are now five rulings on the matter, the individual cases set a precedent that applies more broadly.

This story has been corrected to show that the previous rulings came between 2015 and 2017. </s> MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that an absolute ban on recreational use of marijuana was unconstitutional, effectively leaving it to lawmakers to regulate consumption of the drug.

FILE PHOTO: A participant prepares a marijuana joint during the Global Marijuana March 2017, in support of the legalization of marijuana in Mexico City, Mexico May 6, 2017. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo

Announcing it had found in favor of two legal challenges filed against prohibition of recreational marijuana use, Mexico’s top court crossed the threshold needed to create jurisprudence: five similar rulings on the matter.

That creates a precedent other Mexican courts will have to follow.

“This is a historic day,” Fernando Belaunzaran, an advocate of drug reform and member of the opposition leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), said.

The Supreme Court made its first ruling to allow a group of people to grow marijuana for personal use in November 2015.

In a statement, the court said the ruling did not create an absolute right to use marijuana and that consumption of certain substances could still be subject to regulation.

“But the effects caused by marijuana do not justify an absolute prohibition on its consumption,” it said.

The court ordered federal health regulator COFEPRIS to authorize people seeking the right to use marijuana to do so personally, “albeit without allowing them to market it, or use other narcotics or psychotropic drugs.”

Congress would now have to act to regulate the use of marijuana in Mexico, Belaunzaran said.

Officials in the incoming government of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have indicated they could take steps to legalize marijuana quickly as part of a broader strategy to fight poverty and crime. </s> Mexico’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that an absolute ban on recreational use of marijuana was unconstitutional, effectively leaving it to lawmakers to regulate consumption of the drug.

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Announcing it had found in favour of two legal challenges filed against prohibition of recreational marijuana use, Mexico’s top court crossed the threshold needed to create jurisprudence: five similar rulings on the matter.

That creates a precedent other Mexican courts will have to follow.

“This is a historic day,” Fernando Belaunzaran, an advocate of drug reform and member of the opposition leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), said.

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The Supreme Court made its first ruling to allow a group of people to grow marijuana for personal use in November 2015.

In a statement, the court said the ruling did not create an absolute right to use marijuana and that consumption of certain substances could still be subject to regulation.

“But the effects caused by marijuana do not justify an absolute prohibition on its consumption,” it said.

READ MORE: Canada could be a leader in the global cannabis market — if the rules loosen up: experts

The court ordered federal health regulator COFEPRIS to authorize people seeking the right to use marijuana to do so personally, “albeit without allowing them to market it, or use other narcotics or psychotropic drugs.”

Congress would now have to act to regulate the use of marijuana in Mexico, Belaunzaran said.

Officials in the incoming government of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have indicated they could take steps to legalize marijuana quickly as part of a broader strategy to fight poverty and crime. </s> MEXICO CITY — Mexico's Supreme Court issued two more rulings Wednesday ordering that complainants in individual cases be allowed to use marijuana for recreational purposes, establishing a precedent that a blanket prohibition on pot is unconstitutional.

The court found that adults have a fundamental right to personal development which lets them decide their recreational activities without interference from the state.

"That right is not absolute, and the consumption of certain substances may be regulated, but the effects provoked by marijuana do not justify an absolute prohibition of its consumption," the ruling said.

The high court ordered the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk to authorize the complainants to consume marijuana, though not to commercialize it or use other drugs.

The two decisions followed three similar ones between 2015 and 2017, and under Mexican law five decisions on a related issue set a standard that applies more broadly.

"With the existence of five precedents in the same vein on the subject, the judgment will be mandatory for all courts in the country," the high tribunal concluded.

The rulings technically do not legalize recreational use, however. They establish that courts must allow it, but it is still up to each individual to press his or her case in the judicial system.

Mexico saw something similar happen in recent years with five Supreme Court rulings establishing a broader precedent allowing same-sex couples to wed, though same-sex marriage has yet to become the law of the land nationwide.

Mexico United Against Crime, a group that opposes prohibitionist drug policies, said Wednesday's rulings "open the door to regulation of cannabis" and confirm that "Mexico must move toward the regulation of drugs to improve conditions of justice and peace in the country."

Formal legalization would be up to Congress, and the group urged lawmakers to act.

"The Supreme Court has done its job. ... The responsibility for issuing the corresponding regulation falls on congress," the group's director general, Lisa Sanchez, said in a statement.

Mexico has long been the source of marijuana smuggled into the United States. The rulings from Mexico's Supreme Court come after many U.S. states have legalized pot in recent years for medicinal purposes, recreational use or both. </s> Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled for the fourth and fifth times Wednesday that blanket bans on recreational use of marijuana are unconstitutional. While the rulings do not immediately legalize recreational use, they do set a precedent that other courts must now follow in any individual cases. In Mexican law, it takes five rulings on an issue to establish a firm precedent.

The court established that the fundamental right to free personal development allows adults to elect their own forms of recreation, including personal use of marijuana. The ruling added that it did not authorize individuals to commercialize marijuana or use other narcotics and that the right to recreation is not absolute–the government can still regulate how people use marijuana. Until such rules exist, individuals in Mexico will need to request a judge’s court order to exercise the ability to use recreational marijuana (story in Spanish).

The ball is now in the court of Mexico’s congress, which changes hands next month to the Morena party, to issue updated laws and regulations for the personal use of marijuana. Morena officials have expressed openness to legalizing marijuana in an update to Mexico’s long drug war.

Mexico’s health regulator, Cofepris, has been discussing rules for legal production of marijuana-based substances since at least last year, to enable the use of medical marijuana, which has been legal since 2017. The agency is behind schedule on issuing its rules (story in Spanish) and as of last month a Cofepris official noted that such products will have to meet strict regulatory requirements similar to pharmaceutical drugs (story in Spanish).

Earlier this year, legal sales of recreational marijuana began in Canada and the top South African court struck down limits on recreational marijuana, the latter partly on privacy grounds. Uruguay legalized medical marijuana in 2013, with sales beginning last year. </s> The Constitutional Court of Georgia has released a statement on the decision made today regarding the use of marijuana, effectively abolishing administrative punishment for the use of the drug.

"According to the applicants (Zurab Japaridze and Vakhtang Megrelishvili), the consumption of marijuana is not an act of social threat. In particular, it can only harm the users’ health, making that user him/herself responsible for the outcome. The responsibility for such actions does not cause dangerous consequences for the public."



The Constitutional Court of Georgia noted that permission to consume marijuana is an act of protection of the person's right to free development, and while prohibition of consumption of marijuana is an action directed against its turnover and therefore serves the legitimate aim of consumer protection of health, according to the Court, the role of an individual user in the support of marijuana circulation is very small, and consequently the threats from individual consumption are likewise small. Due to the above, the punishment for consumption of marijuana is disproportionate.”

The court takes into account certain exceptions for today's decision in cases when the use of marijuana creates threats to third parties.

"In addition, the Constitutional Court highlights the imposition of responsibility of marijuana consumption when it creates a threat to third parties. For instance, the Court will justify responsibility when marijuana is consumed in educational institutions, public places, such as on public transport, and in the presence of children”, stated the Court.

Zurab Japaridze congratulated everyone on the decision made today on July 30, 2018.

"I would like to congratulate everybody on the decision made by the Constitutional Court. Through this decision, Georgia became a freer country. Administrative punishment for consumption of marijuana was revoked by the Constitutional Court, which means that consumption of marijuana in Georgia is now legal," said Japaridze.

He noted that it is the duty of individuals to go about the use of marijuana in a responsible manner, keeping other smoking legislations and laws under consideration, as these will still apply.

By Shawn Wayne

30 July 2018 16:31 </s> TBILISI -- Georgia's Constitutional Court has abolished administrative punishments for the consumption of marijuana, making the Caucasus country the first former Soviet republic to legalize usage of the drug.

The ruling by four senior court judges on July 30 concerns only the consumption of cannabis, while cultivation and selling remain a crime, the court said in its ruling.

It added that punishing a person for consuming cannabis would comply with the constitution only if consumption put a third party at risk.

"According to the applicants [Zurab Japaridze and Vakhtang Megrelishvili], the consumption of marijuana is not an act of social threat. In particular, it can only harm the user's health, making that user him/herself responsible for the outcome. The responsibility for such actions does not cause dangerous consequences for the public," the court said.

"The Constitutional Court highlights the imposition of responsibility of marijuana consumption when it creates a threat to third parties. For instance, the court will justify responsibility when marijuana is consumed in educational institutions, public places, such as on public transport, and in the presence of children,” it added.

The ruling was prompted by a lawsuit filed by activists of the opposition Girchi party.

"It can only harm the health of the consumer, who is responsible for the results of the action," the lawsuit read.

Japaridze told reporters the ruling was a victory for a freer Georgia.

"This wasn't a fight for cannabis. This was a fight for freedom," he said.

In late November, the Constitutional Court decriminalized use of marijuana or other forms of cannabis-based drugs but preserved administrative punishment, such as a fine, for marijuana use.

Before that, Georgia's Criminal Code defined repetitive use of marijuana and possession of more than 70 grams of dried cannabis as a crime for which individuals could face punishment that does not include imprisonment.

The Girchi party, which has led a drive to legalize marijuana since November 2016, said then that it will fight for complete decriminalization of marijuana in the country. </s> South Africa's highest court on Tuesday allowed the private use of marijuana, upholding a lower court's ruling that found the criminalization of cannabis was unconstitutional.

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's highest court on Tuesday allowed the private use of marijuana, upholding a lower court's ruling that found the criminalization of cannabis was unconstitutional.

Activists who include members of the Rastafarian movement and traditional healers greeted the ruling with loud applause. They have held marches over the years to demand that the law be changed to allow people to smoke 'weed', which is called 'dagga' in South Africa.

Several government departments, including the health and justice ministries, oppose its legalization and warn of harmful effects.

But in a unanimous judgment read by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, the Constitutional Court decriminalized home consumption, saying "the use of cannabis must be for the personal consumption of the adult". The ruling also approved growing marijuana for personal consumption.

Rastafarian Garreth Prince and former Dagga Party leader Jeremy Acton brought the case asking the High Court to allow for the home use of marijuana.

Jules Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke‚ known as the "Dagga Couple", joined the case, and asked the court to strike down laws banning the use‚ cultivation and sale of marijuana.

He added that it would not be a criminal offence for an adult person to use or be in possession of cannabis in private for their personal consumption in private.

However, the judgement did not specify the amount that can be used by an adult in private use.

"This must be determined by parliament," he said.

Parliament is now expected to amend the laws that criminalize cannabis following the court ruling.

Activists had argued that the criminalization of dagga use and possession is a violation of the right to equality, dignity, and freedom of religion.

There was no immediate comment from the departments over the country's top court ruling on Tuesday.
A complete ban on recreational use of marijuana is ruled unconstitutional by Mexico's Supreme Court, putting the responsibility of regulating its consumption on lawmakers.