Smoking Marijuana: A Fundamental Human Right

Says Mexico’s Supreme Court

The Mexican Supreme Court is not afraid of pulling punches, and in a 4-to-1vote has ruled that outlawing of the possession and use of the marijuana plant represents a violation of fundamental human rights.

This has certainly sent a signal to the government even though the ruling does not mean that people are now free to smoke marijuana in the country.

“It’s really a monumental case,” reportedly said Hannah Hetzer of the Drug Policy Alliance, a drug reform advocacy group, in an interview. “It was argued on human rights grounds, which is unusual, and it’s taking place in Mexico, the epicenter of some of the worst effects of the war on drugs.”

The case was brought before the court by four members of a group known as Mexicans United for Responsible and Tolerant Consumption who filed a petition in 2013 to defend their rights to grow, possess, and consume marijuana.

However, their appeals have just made it to the Supreme Court this year.

Their argument in the hearing was based on the premise of “the right to the free development of one’s personality,” a right enshrined in Mexico’s constitution.

One report term it as a right to self-determination — that is the state can’t prevent you, for example, from eating junk lots of junk food, even if it’s not great for your health or for that matter eating vegetables that you may not like. As long as you’re not harming other people, you have the right to autonomy.

And it is within that context the Supreme Court has ruled that possessing and consuming marijuana falls is a right one ought to have.

What the ruling by the Supreme Court essentially now means for the plaintiff is they now have the freedom to enjoy their marijuana in whatever form they choose.

However, this does not become the law of the land until other similar rulings are handed down for at least four other individuals or groups.

Lawmakers of the country could also initiate and effect changes in the law.