MEXICO—The Mexican Supreme Court is taking steps toward legalizing marijuana, along with the possibility of other narcotics. The drug war that has been ongoing for years between cartels and the Mexican court may be coming to an end.

Ever since the year 2009, Mexico has prohibited even minimal usage of marijuana, cocaine and heroin, which have been tied into the years of the drug war between the process of harvesting and selling pot. Several years previously, former President Felipe Calderon had responded to drugs with violence, the Villas de Salvarcar massacre being one example. As a result of the massacre along with many other court cases, over 100,000 Mexican citizens died, followed by 25,000 disappearances which occurred during the time of his presidency.

The debate on marijuana began after the case of the 8-year-old patient, Katelyn Faith Pauling, diagnosed with epilepsy, who became Mexico’s first patient treated with marijuana. The story made headlines when the government passed the right for Pauling to follow through with a “cannabis-based treatment.”

The Supreme Court in Mexico began challenging the nation’s substance abuse laws. The vote by court argued that “individuals should have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for their personal use.” The court ruling didn’t shut down the current drug laws. However, the Mexican government says that this legal action could eventually lead to the revision of these laws.

One of the plaintiffs in the case, Armando Santacruz, claims that, “We are killing ourselves to stop the production of something that is heading to the U.S., where it’s legal.” On the other hand, Consuelo Mendoza of the National Association for Parents believes that, “There are much more serious problems to solve in the country.” He believes that one of the bigger problems is the “huge amount of young people who don’t have access to education or jobs,” yet are given “free access to take marijuana.”

The Transform Drug Policy Foundation is also involved in the debate. Lisa Sanchez, Latin American Programme Manager for the Foundation, states that the cultivation of marijuana “limits the right to the free development of one’s personality.”

Although some are concerned, there are also those like Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico City, who sees Wednesday’s decision as a “symbolic move in the right direction.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Nov. 16, at 2:14 p.m., we fixed an issue where “has” should have read “had.”