Mexico’s Senate overwhelmingly passes medical marijuana bill

The Senate said in a statement summarizing the debate that the measure directs the Health Department to "design public policies to regulate the medicinal use of this plant and its derivatives."

The legislation now goes to the lower Chamber of Deputies for consideration.

Sen. Cristina Diaz Salazar, a member of President Enrique Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party, said the measure aims to solve the urgent needs of Mexicans who are unable to access pot-based medicines.

According to the summary, she called it "a historic step."

Some lawmakers argued that the bill does not go far enough because it . . .