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Mexico's elected president's party on Thursday introduced a law that would legalize the possession, public use, cultivation and sale of marijuana.
Senator Olga Sanchez Cordero introduced the measure, saying that everyone should have "the right to carry up to 30 grams of cannabis". People could wear more than one ounce if they applied for a permit to do so under the proposal.
"From the point of view of the negative effects, there is no reason why marijuana is not legal, if alcohol and tobacco are," according to the bill.
Cordero was chosen Secretary of the Interior by the president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who will take office on 1 December. She is currently senator of the leftist Morena party of Lopez Obrador.
His bill would also allow every Mexican to grow up to 20 marijuana plants on private property and produce up to 17 ounces (480 grams) a year. It would be allowed to smoke marijuana in public "except in areas without tobacco."
Marijuana sales would be regulated by a special body to ensure purity, packaging and quality. Sales of edible marijuana products would be prohibited, as well as the advertising or promotion of marijuana. Providing marijuana to minors would be illegal, and driving under the influence of marijuana would be subject to prosecution.
The bill should be approved by both houses of Congress, where Morena and her allies hold majorities in both houses.
In 2016, the Mexican government began licensing some patients to import marijuana products for medical purposes. It has also decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana (about 5 grams) and issued several permits allowing people to grow and own pot for their personal use.
Uruguay was the first country to legalize marijuana for personal use. This year, Canada has become the second and largest country with a legal national marijuana market.
