Mexico City:
Leftist Mexico City lawmakers proposed a measure on Thursday to legalize marijuana sales in the Mexican capital, building on a law allowing the possession of small amounts of pot throughout the country.
The proposal is similar to the Dutch model, with both consumption and possession not penalized, lawmakers said.
"We want to see if it's really possible to decriminalize the possession of marijuana," said Vidal Llerenas, a deputy in Mexico City's legislative assembly from the city's ruling Democratic Revolution Party.
Unlike a measure approved in Uruguay in December, the initiative does not aim to regulate marijuana production.
Shops would sell from "the front door" and stock up from "the back door," explained Alejandro Madrazo of the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics.
Proponents of the legislation say that although Mexican regions lack the authority to regulate cannabis cultivation, the drawback could be mitigated if the federal Congress allowed for medical marijuana and approved its production.
Leftist lawmakers plan to introduce a marijuana decriminalization bill in the lower house of Mexico's Congress in the coming days.
Mexico currently allows the possession of a maximum of five grams of marijuana for personal consumption, but growing and selling weed is illegal.
Mexico City, home to almost nine million people plus 11 million more in its suburbs, has stood out from the rest of the country in recent years by legalizing abortion and allowing gay marriage.