Medical marijuana approved by Mexican government

Decree issued Monday citing legalization of medical marijuana

A one-ounce bag of medicinal marijuana is displayed at the Berkeley Patients Group in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY – Despite ongoing drug violence in Mexico, the country has legalized the use of medical marijuana for medicinal and research use.

In April, Mexico's Lower House of Congress overwhelming passed the bill, and on Monday President Enirque Peña Nieto issued a decree confirming the legalization of cannabis. 

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For more on the medical marijuana debate in Texas and abroad, click HERE

According to the decree, the Ministry of Health will be in charge of implementing the regulations. 

The law will stop “criminalizing consumption” and also authorize the use of medicines made from a base of marijuana and/or its active ingredients, the Guardian reported in April.

The initiative signals a shift for Peña Nieto, who says he has never smoked marijuana and has openly opposed its legalization, and could serve to curb drug violence in the country by legalizing and thus taxing one of the cartels' revenue sources.

This is a developing story. Stay with KSAT 12 and KSAT.com for more.

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About the Author:

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.