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.

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.

--------------------------------------------------------

Don't miss a thing. Get email alerts from KSAT 12 today.

Get alerted to news events as they happen or sign up for a scheduled news headline email that is delivered right to your inbox. Breaking news, severe weather, daily forecasts, entertainment news, all of the day’s important events to keep you up to date wherever you are.



Sign up today. It's Free.