The party of Mexico's president-elect has submitted legislation to legalize the possession, public use, growth and sale of marijuana in what would be a major change to the country's narcotics strategy.
Senator Olga Sanchez Cordero -- who has been picked as interior secretary by president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador -- said prohibition has fed violence and poverty, criticizing a 12-year crackdown on drug gangs that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
"Today, the nation has taken the decision to change," she told senators. "We don't want more deaths. It will be a major contribution to bringing peace to our beloved country."
If the bill passes, Mexico would join Canada, Uruguay and a number of US states that permit recreational use of the drug and allow its commercialization.
Mexico, which banned marijuana in the early 20th century, is still a major supplier of illicit weed to the United States. It has been racked by a decade of conflict between cartels over supply routes for heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs to its northern neighbor.
