Medical marijuana was legalized in Mexico in mid-2017; legislators plan to legalize its recreational use by late 2019.On 28 June 2021, Clarence Thomas, one of the U.S. Supreme Courts most conservative justices, possibly opened the door to federal legalization of cannabis in the United States when he wrote "A prohibition on interstate use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or proper to support the federal governments piecemeal approach." Legality by country
Currently, Uruguay and Canada are the only countries that have fully legalized the cultivation, consumption and bartering of recreational cannabis nationwide. In the United States, 19 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of cannabis – though the drug remains illegal at the federal level. Laws vary from state to state when it comes to the commercial sale. Court rulings in Georgia and South Africa have led to the legalization of cannabis consumption, but not legal sales. A policy of limited enforcement has also been adopted in many countries, in particular Spain and the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis is tolerated at licensed establishments. Contrary to popular belief, cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands but it has been decriminalized since the 1970s. In 2021, Malta was the first European Union member to legalize the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. In Estonia, it is only legal to sell cannabis products with a THC content of less than 0.2%, although products may contain more cannabidiol.
Canada criminalized cannabis in The Opium and Narcotic Drug Act, 1923, before any reports of the use of the drug in Canada, but eventually legalized its consumption for recreational and medicinal purposes in 2018.In 1925, a compromise was made at an international conference in The Hague about the International Opium Convention that banned exportation of "Indian hemp" to countries that had prohibited its use, and requiring importing countries to issue certificates approving the importation and stating that the shipment was required "exclusively for medical or scientific purposes". It also required parties to "exercise an effective control of such a nature as to prevent the illicit international traffic in Indian hemp and especially in the resin". In the United States in 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act was passed, and prohibited the production of hemp in addition to cannabis. In 1972, the Dutch government divided drugs into more- and less-dangerous categories, with cannabis being in the lesser category. Accordingly, possession of 30 grams (1.1 oz) or less was made a misdemeanor. Cannabis has been available for recreational use in coffee shops since 1976. Cannabis products are only sold openly in certain local "coffeeshops" and possession of up to 5 grams (0.18 oz) for personal use is decriminalized, however: the police may still confiscate it, which often happens in car checks near the border.