Mexico court approves recreational cocaine use for two people

Both claimants will be allowed to ‘possess, transport and use cocaine’

The pair will still be prohibited from selling cocaine (RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images)

A Mexican court has granted two people the right to use cocaine recreationally, according to an organisation campaigning to end the country’s “war on drugs”.

The Mexico City court said it would allow both claimants to “possess, transport and use cocaine”, Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD) said.

However, they will not be allowed to sell the drug.

The court ordered the country’s health authority, Cofepris, to authorise the petitioners’ use of cocaine.

MUCD said the decisions were the “first of their kind” and a “historic step”.

“This case constitutes another step in the struggle to build alternative drug policies that allow [Mexico] to reorient security efforts and better serve public health,” Lisa Sanchez, the organisation’s director, said in a statement.

The decision will need to be reviewed by a higher court before it is enforced.

However, a Cofepris official told the AFP news agency the health authority has moved to block the court order.

They are arguing such authoritisation was outside the court’s legal remit, the official said.

“We have been working for a safer, more just and peaceful Mexico for years, and with this case we insist on the need to stop criminalizing drug users ...and design better public policies that explore all available options,” Ms Sanchez, the head of MUCD, said.