With much of the nation in the throes of a bloody drug war against violent cartels, more than 200 people gathered Sunday in a Mexico City park to smoke marijuana and demand its legalization.
The activists braved pouring rain to rally on the popular tourist drag of the Alameda to have a smoke-in protesting marijuana’s illegal status in Mexico, reports AFP.
Mexico is among a handful of Latin American countries that allow for possession of small “personal use” amounts of marijuana and other drugs.
The limit for marijuana is five grams, between an eighth and a quarter-ounce. Amounts greater than than can still get you jailed and/or fined.
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| Photo: NDTV |
Many smoke-in participants smoked out of pipes decorated with skulls, said to allude to traditional pre-European cultures, as music played and a legalization petition was circulated.
Support for legalizing marijuana in Mexico has grown, especially among left wing parties, as a way to curb gang-related violence that has resulted in about 28,000 deaths in the past four years.
Vicente Fox, who led the Conservative party of current President Felipe Calderon when Fox was president of Mexico from 2000-2006, has repeatedly voiced his support for pot legalization.