Mexico Supreme Court Rules Health Permit Valid for Recreational Cannabis Self-Cultivation

Mexico City — Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) has ruled that a health authorization issued by the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) is valid for nine individuals to engage in the recreational self-cultivation and use of cannabis and THC, as long as each person is explicitly named as a permit holder.

The case dates back to 2022, when nine people applied to COFEPRIS for authorization to carry out activities related to the recreational use of cannabis and THC, including planting, cultivation, harvesting, preparation, possession, and transport.

COFEPRIS denied the request, arguing that the General Health Law did not grant it the authority to issue such permits, even though the Supreme Court had ruled in 2021 in General Declaration of Unconstitutionality 1/2018, striking down the legal provisions that prohibited authorities from granting such permissions.

The applicants then filed a complaint for non-compliance with the court’s ruling. A lower court found the complaint justified and ordered COFEPRIS to issue the authorization. In 2022, COFEPRIS issued a joint health authorization covering all nine individuals.

However, the applicants appealed, arguing that the ruling had not been fully complied with because they believed each person should receive an individual permit. The Supreme Court reviewed the case and determined that COFEPRIS had indeed complied by issuing an authorization that explicitly named all nine individuals as permit holders. The court noted that each person had received certified copies of the authorization.