Mexico's Supreme Court opens door to recreational marijuana use

Mexico's supreme court has ruled that growing, possessing and smoking marijuana for recreation are legal under a person's right to personal freedoms.

The measure was approved in 4-1 vote on the five-justice panel.

Ministers José Ramón Cossío Díaz, Olga Sánchez Cordero, Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena and Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea, of the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), voted in favor, while Minister Jorge Pardo against.

At this point, the ruling covers only the plaintiffs in one case, Lisa Sánchez, Pablo Girault and Armando Santacruz, founders of the Mexican Society for Responsible and Tolerant Self-Consumption (Sociedad Mexicana de Autoconsumo Responsable y Tolerante - SMART). 

The ruling Wednesday did not approve the sale or commercialization of marijuana, nor is it expected to lead to general legalization.

But if the court rules the same way on five similar petitions, it would then establish the precedent to change the law and allow general recreational use.

A similar process led to the court's recent ruling that Mexican laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.