Mexican pair allowed to use cocaine, court rules

A Mexican court has ruled two people should be able to use cocaine legally.

The landmark ruling means the pair can use, but not sell, small amounts of the drug.

The case was brought by law reform group MUCD, which wants to change Mexico's harsh drug policies. The ruling will have to be approved by a higher court before the pair can legally use the drug, after Mexico's health regulator queried its legality.

"We have been working for a safer, more just and peaceful Mexico for years, and with this case we insist on the need to stop criminalising users of drugs other than marijuana and design better public policies that explore all available options, including regulation," said Lisa Sánchez, MUCD director.

Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has pledged change, saying current drug laws lead to violence and poor public health outcomes. He has proposed decriminalisation of all substances. 

"They are a historic step in the understanding of the drug phenomenon by the judiciary," said Sánchez, "and a unique opportunity to advocate again for the end of the war and the reorientation of public resources towards the prevention and punishment of high-impact crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, rape and extortion."

There were more than 33,000 homicides in Mexico last year, up 15 percent on 2017, with many of them the result of warfare between various drug cartels.

Newshub.