MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s navy said on Thursday it had seized over a tonne of marijuana on a boat in northwestern Mexican waters that sailed from the U.S. city of San Diego.
The vessel, known as “LOGOS,” was apprehended in the waters off the northwestern beach town of Rosarito, in Baja California state, just a few kilometers south of the U.S. border, the navy said.
A Mexican man was found on board, along with 2,425 lbs of marijuana.
Where the boat was headed and where the marijuana was grown were not known, the navy said.
Mexico has been exporting weed to its northern neighbor for decades, but in rare cases, moneyed Mexican weed fans have imported potent U.S. pot strains.
California in November voted to legalize recreational marijuana. A handful of U.S. states have legalized recreational marijuana use, although it remains illegal under federal law.
California’s relatively liberal stance toward the drug has put pressure on Mexico to update its drug laws.
Peña Nieto said in 2014 that Mexico could not pursue diverging paths with the United States on marijuana. Last year, he submitted a bill to close the gap on U.S. legislation. But his own lawmakers have been reluctant to follow his lead.
In 2015, Mexico’s Supreme Court set the ball rolling in a landmark case, granting four people the right to grow and consume weed, and inspiring hope for change.
Peña Nieto last year proposed decriminalizing possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana for personal use, and said it would allow people jailed for holding up to that amount to go free.
But senators in his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) put the initiative on ice, saying it “requires a greater analysis,” and only backed medical marijuana use.
Opinion polls show that while there is public support for medical marijuana use, Mexicans are still resistant to the idea of an outright liberalization of the drug for recreational ends.
GABRIEL STARGARDTER