In neighboring Sonora, a federal judge has ruled in favor of an activist hoping to ease access to recreational marijuana.

In June 2021, Mexico’s Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that all prohibitions on the recreational use of marijuana were unconstitutional. It also ordered federal health officials to develop a means for Mexicans to obtain seeds and otherwise enjoy their new right.

Nevertheless, when Sonoran activist and attorney Miguel Angel Haro attempted to get a recreational pot permit, he was turned down, and took the matter to court. Last month a federal judge ordered those health officials to give him that permit, a decision he hopes will ease the process for others.

“Why defy the Supreme Court if now they know that the court is going to tell them to grant more permits?” he said.