The Mexican senate has overwhelmingly passed a bill approving the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
The bill was approved on Tuesday on a vote of 98-7, with one abstention.
The Senate said in a statement summarising 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 bill would authorise the cultivation of marijuana plants for medical and scientific purposes, establishing that industrial products with concentrations of one per cent THC or less would be legal to buy, sell, import and export.
The legislation will now go to the lower Chamber of Deputies for consideration.
